Monster Knows Best
by PS2wizard
Summary: Just when life is going great for Alphys on the surface, her overprotective mother comes back into her life. Which would be fine if not for the fact that they haven't spoken to each other in years due to an incident Alphys is hesitant to discuss. She must once more tackle another issue from her past, this time with help from her friends. This takes place Post Pacifist
1. No Going Back

**I do not own Undertale, that belongs to Toby Fox.**

 **Chapter 1 No Going Back**

When the monsters were first trapped underground, they tried their hardest to eke out a living. Although they lacked the power of Determination that the humans possessed, they were still determined to survive. Over time they constructed an entirely new civilization in the Underground and managed to persevere despite being imprisoned. Many were content with their new life underground and settled for what they were dealt with, but this did not necessarily mean they were happy. Day in and day out, they would go on doing the same routine over and over with little opportunity to make any changes. Many monsters found themselves stuck in a bleak, repetitious existence with little to no chance at advancing and improving their lives. It seemed like they would be trapped down there forever and never get a chance to live a better life, but then the barrier was finally removed. Monsters were presented with an opportunity to return to the surface and start anew.

Naturally It was a bumpy start when humans discovered that the monsters had returned to the surface. Their liberation did lead to some…complications. All the knowledge humanity had on monsters came from legends and stories passed down about the Great War long ago, which didn't paint monsters in a positive light. Meaning that they were quick to jump to conclusions when they first saw monsters in town. Either they ran and hid in fear or went on the offensive.

Thankfully, the monsters didn't have to worry that their return would be short lived for they had Frisk, the young human who managed to circumnavigate the perilous Underground and not only face multiple hostile monsters, including Captain of the Royal Guard Undyne and King Asgore, but did so without taking a single life. The child managed to befriend just about every monster they encountered (save for one angry, possessed dummy who's more of an aggressive acquaintance at this point). So it's no surprise that Frisk managed to convince the world to give monsters a chance and help the monsters make their claim on the surface. Over time, humans lowered their guard and allowed monsters to live amongst them. A small settlement was built near the base of Mt. Ebott which has long since flourished into a small city dubbed New New Home. Not the best name but no one had the heart to reject Asgore's suggestion. Most monsters live in New New Home, with a few still residing in the Underground and a margin having gone off to explore the world.

Life isn't perfect but it's arguably better than living in the Underground. There are some lingering prejudices that will take time to fully abolish. Humans and monsters still have some concerns about the other and the changes that are occurring to accommodate monsters. As much as some of them want things to go back to before the barrier was lifted, they have to accept that what's done is done. The monsters are out of hiding and there's no going back.

* * *

Undyne's day has gone swimmingly thus far, and it's not even 10AM yet. First, she got up early to run a quick jog around the block 50 times, give or take. Then, she got in a quick shower, scrubbing her cerulean blue scales of sweat and rinsing out her red pony tail. After slipping on a clean black tank top, blue jeans, eyepatch, she made some breakfast for herself without destroying the kitchen this time. Granted it was just a protein bar and some fruit, but it counts in her book. As of now, she is chilling in the kitchen Alphys designed to look exactly like the one in her old house. From the black and white tiled floor, to the pale blue wallpaper with patterns of pink fish, to her broken table that's being held together with lots of duct tape. All the while said genius is still asleep, wiped out from marathoning the new season of anime the night before. Undyne still can't get over how adorable Alphys looked passed out lying in Undyne's lap. Undyne wanted to make her some breakfast but Alphys, along with the local fire department, insisted she not do that in the future.

Speaking of the short scientist, Alphys is curled up in bed sleeping peacefully and looking so small in the king sized bed by herself. Her phone vibrates and buzzes on the night stand next to the bed waking her up. Alphys opens her sleepy eyes and blindly reaches for her glasses and phone. She sits up and puts on her glasses to read the text that she just got. Alphys replies to the text and puts her phone down to look around the messy bedroom and find Undyne. Once she spots the time on the nearby clock, it dawns on her that Undyne is probably up already. Alphys crawls over to the edge and climbs out of bed then puts on a fluffy pink robe, with her tail poking out in the back, to warm herself up. She makes a mental note to wash the pile of lab coats in her room next to Undyne's tank tops and spears on her way out of the bedroom.

Undyne can hear the pitter patter of Alphys's stubby feet heading down the stairs. As soon as she reaches the bottom of the stairs, Undyne shouts, "Morning Alphys! Sleep well!?" Alphys is startled by the sudden greeting and cautiously enters the kitchen with a hand over her chest. "Oh y-yes. I slept well." She uses the stepping stool to reach the cupboard and scrounge up something quick to eat, given that it's nearly 10. Undyne just watches her admiring Alphys's dedication to being independent. With a sense of trepidation, Alphys asks, "So um what did you think? About those new shows we tried out last night?".

"It was pretty good. Especially that one about volleyball. I never realized that it was so extreme and epic! About time people realized that these sports are just another type of battle." Undyne responds, her fists clenching up and a grin on her face. It's not too surprising that Undyne would like sports anime, given how much Undyne loves seeing people get hyped up and passionate about anything. It's a relief for Alphys considering that Undyne doesn't share Alphys's love of anime but now they had something they both enjoyed. "Oh, well I'm glad you liked it. Maybe we can w-watch a little more before Frisk and Papyrus come over."

"Yeah, we got time before those dorks come over. Plenty of time to clean up and get ready to teach those two a lesson. Fuhuhu!" Alphys has her concerns that the kitchen will end up decimated but with Frisk here it shouldn't end catastrophically. There will likely still be a mess but Alphys has come to expect this from Undyne when she does her cooking lessons. The messes are usually easy to clean up and haven't gotten problematic. Besides, Undyne's endless amount of energy and enthusiasm are just some of the many traits she loves about her. At times Alphys can't help but envy her outgoing attitude. Even with all the progress she's made Alphys is still soft spoken and shy around others, making it hard for her to make herself heard. All the more reason to be grateful that Undyne is thoughtful enough to listen to her from time to time and speak on her behalf when necessary. At times she feels like she doesn't deserve this wonderful life she has but Undyne manages to find a way to cheer her up and convince her otherwise.

Alphys counts herself lucky to have Undyne in her life. If not for Frisk, she and Undyne wouldn't be together or living on the surface for that matter. She would probably still be hiding out in her lab, rewatching episodes of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie by herself with only the Amalgamates to keep her company and the occasional routine maintenance check-up for Mettaton. She would have been stuck harboring her secrets and hiding from the world for the rest of life, but now there's no reason to hide.

They start up another episode and Alphys gets comfy next to Undyne. She eats some toaster pastries while Undyne cheers on the protagonist's team as if she is an eager sports fan on the side lines. Occasionally she glares daggers at the overconfident opponents as well as aiming actual spears that requires Alphys to calm Undyne down before she destroys the TV. After that Undyne is pumped and preps the kitchen for the cooking lesson, kicking anything not important off the counter and prompting Alphys to add on to the shopping list what they need to restock and call Woshua to stop by afterword. Alphys planned to spend most of the afternoon down in her new lab working on some new inventions, and maybe work on some fanfiction that she's been putting off for too long.

It is about a quarter to 12 when there is knock on the door while Undyne is getting some tea ready for their guests. "Hey Alphys, can you get that?!" Undyne shouts while she searches the pantry for the right blend.

Alphys looks over shoulder while she's in the middle of picking up around the living room. "O-ok!" She confirms, believing that she was loud enough for Undyne to hear. She hasn't finished cleaning up but knowing Papyrus and Frisk, they won't mind. They'll be spending their time in the kitchen anyway, making an even bigger mess. She stops what she is doing and goes to open the door. She pulls the door open and says "Hi guys, you're here earlier than-". Her smile shifts into a startled frown as she cranes her head back to look up at the towering visitor. Standing before her isn't Frisk or Papyrus, but a monster that shares a striking resemblance to Alphys. She bears the same yellow scales, a reptilian curved tail, and points on the back of her head like Alphys yet stands at about Undyne's height with a slimmer, skinny build and a minor slouch. She even stands nervously like Alphys all keyed up. Her arms start to raise but she stops and lowers them. "Um h-hello Alphys. I….I'm sorry for not calling in advance b-but-"

"Hey Alphys! Are they here yet!?" Undyne shouts again, surprising both monsters. Undyne steps out of the kitchen and spots the unexpected guest at the door. "Oh, it's someone else. You recognize her Alphys? She kinda looks like you."

Alphys glances from her girlfriend to the woman in the doorway. Her claws grip the doorknob and she takes a deep breath before answering. "This….is m-my mother." The taller monster timidly waves at Undyne who is now frozen in shock. She's looks like a deer in headlights or Frisk getting caught staying up late to watch Mettaton.

"Did….did I come at a bad time?" Alphys's mother asked. For the first time, Alphys wishes that she was back underground hiding in her lab. It won't do any good now, since there's no going back.

 **Happy New Year everyone. It is great to be back writing fanfiction. Expect to see updates every 3-4 days and what lies in store for Undyne, Alphys, and her mother.**


	2. We've Got Company

**I do not own Undertale, it was created by Toby Fox**

To say that the situation is uncomfortable would be an understatement. The three monster women sit in silence with Alphys and Undyne sitting together on their blue couch while her mother sits across in an easy chair. Undyne is unusually quiet in front of the woman claiming to be Alphys's mom. There are still empty cups on the coffee table and DVD cases lying on the floor that Alphys had intended on picking up before answering the door. Undyne is a little embarrassed but in no way does she blame Alphys for any of it. They all have a plethora of questions they want to ask each other yet can't seem to find the nerve to say anything.

Undyne is still recoiling from the revelation that this random woman is Alphys's mom. Even though the resemblance between the two monsters is so uncanny that anyone would believe the two are related just by looking at them, Undyne is baffled because this is how she is finding about this instead of hearing this from Alphys. It's not due to any indifference on her part, but rather Alphys and her reluctance to open up. Undyne knows better than to pry into Alphys's past and force her to recall devastating memories so Undyne has been waiting patiently for her to talk about it when she feels comfortable. It's taken longer than she anticipated and normally Undyne would have lost her patience at this point but she is willing to put in the extra effort for her sweetheart. They've been making progress and Alphys has been acting more casually around Undyne but it's been baby steps for the most part. So now, Undyne is cautious about what she wants to say fearing that she might accidentally say something to offend her girlfriend's mom.

After a minute of awkward silence, Undyne decides to take the situation into her hands.

"So…..you're Alphys's mom." Undyne finally states though it sounds like she's indirectly asking for clarification. Admittedly not the best way she to start things off but it does get the ball rolling.

The elder monster tenses up a little and fidgets in her seat. The two continue to look more and more similar with every passing second, even down to their mannerisms. "Um….y-yes, but p-please c-c-call me Ternal. I'm sorry f-for not letting you know I was c-coming. I would have called but…." She hesitates to continue.

"It…It's fine." Alphys mutters. She averts her gaze unable to look her mother in the eyes. Once again, Undyne has to break the silence in order to keep the conversation going. "So…want something to drink? Maybe some tea?" Undyne offers stiffly. "Oh, tea sounds nice actually." Ternal says.

"Great, you two can catch up and I'll go make-"  
"I'LL MAKE IT!" Alphys proclaims, rushing out of the room before either monster could object.

"Whoa, she never runs that fast on our jogs." Undyne picks up that there's something going on between the mother and daughter that Alphys isn't telling her about. She'd get up and ask but since she's the host, Undyne feels responsible to stay with her guest and keep her company until she has a good excuse to leave

"So, is this y-your home or Alphys'?" Ternal finally asks, gaining the courage to raise her voice again and putting Undyne on the spot. "It's both actually. When the barrier was lowered and we were all settling down, Alphys wanted to build me a new house with her cool science tech but I told her she should just build her own place first. That way first she can show off all her cool nerd stuff to the humans and what monsters can really do!" She stops when she realizes that she's getting worked up again and dials it back down. "So we decided to just make a house for both of us and live together. It was a lot easier than staying back in the Underground. She really went all out and made it indestructible. I haven't even burned-…my... finger... cooking since we got here. Totally safe." Undyne looks a little nervous after that flub but manages to keep her composure.

"Well that's a r-relief. I was so worried when I heard that s-she moved to the surface. I thought she was going to be living by herself all f-frightened and alone, but it's nice to know that she has a f-friend to look after her." Ternal seems to calm down a tad though Undyne is more confused than before. Should she correct her on that or not? Did she know that Undyne is dating her daughter? Alphys owes one of them an explanation.

Suddenly, there's a rapid knock on the door providing Undyne with an excuse to step away. "Wait one sec, I'll be right back." Undyne did not want to be the one to drop all this information on Alphys's mom if she doesn't know.

Undyne opens the door and says, "Sorry for the wait-". At that moment, she remembers that she has a cooking lesson with Papyrus and Frisk. She only realizes this just now because those two are standing on the other side of the door.

"Hi Undyne." Frisk says with a friendly smile.

"Hello Undyne! The human and I ready for our lesson. Are you ready to engage with the Great Papyrus in a battle of culinary wits?"

The two of them stand with friendly smiles on their faces ready for their weekly activity. As much as Undyne would love to get cooking with her two friends, now is not a good time. However, Undyne can't bear to turn Papyrus or Frisk away. Somehow Papyrus can give her the puppy dog eyes look without even trying or having eyes.

"Uhhhhhh…be right back!" She sprints into the kitchen hoping that Alphys will know how to handle this. She finds Alphys using a foot stool to reach the tea. "Alphys! We gotta talk!" Undyne says startling the short scientist and nearly causing her to fall over. Alphys nearly falls backwards but she steadies herself at the last second and looks at the former captain shakily. "What is it Undyne? Why aren't you with my mother? Oh no, what did she say? What did you say to her?"

"She's fine but I don't think she knows about us being together. You did tell your folks right?" Undyne asks waiting for a simple yes or no. Alphys averts her gaze and wrings her hands together. "Welllllll, we haven't actually spoken to each other in…..a while."

"How long is a while?" She asks detecting the hesitance in Alphys's voice.

"Umm….a…couple of years." Alphys admits.

"A couple of- Alphys, get your butt out there and talk to your mom!" It would be understandable if it had been a few weeks or months but to go for even a year without any word from her parents is not acceptable.

"I can't! I can't see her. Not after what happened last time…."

"Well you can't just hide out here! Frisk and Papyrus are here and I can't handle them and your mom."

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry but I- wait who's at the door?"

"Papyrus and Frisk. They're here for the cooking lesson."

"Well what did you do?"

"Nothing! I came here to ask you."

"Did you close the door?"

"No, why?"

"Oh nonononononono!" Alphys darts back into the living room fearing the worst just as the kettle whistles. To which Undyne immediately facepalmed herself and realized what she did wrong. She left the door open to a kid that likes to wander around and examine everything in sight and a skeleton composed of nothing but nice bones that seeks attention and approval.

Alphys finds Frisk and Papyrus sitting across from her mother and starts freaking out even more. "Oh hello Alphys. You didn't tell me you had a tall clone of yourself. I was just asking if she knew Asgore's clone." Papyrus tells her. Ternal looks over at her embarrassed daughter with confusion and concern.

"I don't think that's her clone Papyrus." Frisk clarifies, feeling obligating to explain this after what happened when he mistook Toriel for Asgore's clone.

"Then who is she a clone of?"

"A-actually, I'm her mother." Ternal says softly.

"Your mother is a clone? Wowee! Does that make you a clone as well?"

"There aren't any clones Papyrus, this is my actual mother." Alphys says with growing irritation.

"Oh! Wait…." He looks to Frisk and asks, "So does that mean you're living with Asgore's mother?"

"Toriel isn't Asgore's mother." Frisk asserts

"So she is his clone."

"There aren't any clones!" Alphys exclaims, only to immediately cover her mouth feeling mortified.

Before Frisk could attempt to explain once more to Papyrus that there aren't any clones, Alphys goes over to the human and sheepishly says, "Can I just borrow Frisk for a second?" Ternal looks like she is about to say something but Alphys takes the human by the hand and leaves with Frisk before she can say anything. She takes Frisk into the kitchen passing by Undyne along the way. At this point Frisk can see that she is visibly unnerved by all of this.

"I hope we didn't ruin your time with your mom." Frisk apologizes. "I could talk to Papyrus and we can leave you two-"

"Don't leave me with her! I mean…." Her face falls and she tries to properly explain what's going on to Frisk. "I need your help. You're good with handling situations peacefully. I need you to deal with my mom."

"Why? What's the problem?"

"She…there are s-some…issues that we left unresolved the last time we met that I really don't want to get into right now. Not with you guys or Undyne here." The human wants to pry and ask more questions but gets the feeling that Alphys isn't going to be opening up any time soon. All Frisk can do is support her and do everything to help. "Hmm, okay. I'll see what I can do." Frisk responds. She lightens up a little and smiles weakly at the child.

As for her mother and Papyrus, the two of them are joined by Undyne the moment Frisk and Alphys left. "Tea's ready. Careful, it's hot."

"O-oh, thank you." Ternal graciously accepts the cup from her and takes a sip. Papyrus has a cup as well while Undyne stays standing anticipating any further requests. Just as it looks like the room is about to return to awkward silence, the optimistic skeleton chimes in saying, "Excuse me Alphys's clone mother, but you seem to be nervous. Is everything alright?"

"O-oh! Everything is just f-f-fine." Even Papyrus can see past her attempts to mask her stress.

"There is no need to worry. I know what you are going through and can reassure you that will everything will be fine."

"R-really?" She says hopefully.

"Of course! I was nervous when Undyne gave me my first cooking lesson." If Undyne wasn't keeping perfectly still she would be facepalming herself again right about now. Ternal doesn't have a clue what Papyrus is talking about, having been given no context whatsoever. "I still remember when that happened. Undyne asked me one day if I was doing anything after training. I thought to myself 'What a peculiar thing to ask. Why does Undyne want to know? Could it be that she is asking me out on a date?' And then I said, "What peculiar thing to ask. Why do you want to know? Are you asking me out on a date?'. She then proceeded to-"

"-clarify that I was only asking because I didn't have any plans either and thought he might like to hang out!" Undyne interjects, cutting off Papyrus before he can say anything to incriminate her.

"Yes but you did some other stuff before that." Papyrus insisted.

"Yeah well that stuff isn't important. You accepted, we made pasta, and since then we've been meeting up for cooking lessons ever since." Undyne summarized without going into any major detail.

"Actually I was hoping to talk with Alphys. We….we haven't seen each other in a long time. It looks like I came at a bad time though. I should have called first." Ternal says with her voice full of regret..

"Nonsense! Undyne and Alphys love having unexpected guests. I come here all the time and they rarely yell at me to leave." At this point Undyne isn't just staring daggers, she is staring spears at Papyrus and is tempted to summon actual ones if he doesn't knock it off. "In fact, I'll go see if the human is ready for our lesson." He leaps to his feet and leaves the two ladies again once more forcing Undyne to play the role of host. Papyrus finds Frisk and Alphys planning out how to deal with Ternal unaware of what's going on. "Human! I need to have a word with you."

"Oh uh Papyrus, I don't think now is a good time." Alphys mutters softly.

"I agree. I think it might be best if we left. Clearly Alphys and her mother some serious business to talk about."

"They do?" Frisk asks, surprised that Papyrus managed to pick up on that.

"Of course, its so obvious. Alphys's clone mother is nervous about her very first cooking lesson and is worried about looking bad in front of us. She's so desperate she's turning to Alphys for advice. I can't even imagine what that would be like. Worried about disappointing those you look up to by preparing a horrid dish that doesn't live up to their expectations. Embarrassing yourself after trying so hard. Living with the shame forever." Papyrus deduces. Frisk doesn't even know where to start this time while Alphys looks more gloomy than before. "Which is why I think we should let them have their lesson in peace. I don't mind missing a lesson. There's nothing more for me to learn, I just go to these so Undyne won't be lonely."

"Who are you calling lonely!" Undyne shouts as she enters the kitchen. Before Papyrus could respond, Alphys asks, "Why aren't you watching my mother?"

"She's not here. She gave me her number and left just a second ago." She hands Alphys a scrap of paper with a phone number written on it. Alphys exhales in relief yet also looks saddened to hear about this.

"Drat. She must have been intimidated about trying to make pasta that can live up to my standards. Tell you what, the human and I shall leave and you can call your mother's clone to let her know that she won't have to share you with us. She can have you all to herself. We'll just have to reschedule and find something else to do."

"Like go to Grillby's? Maybe we'll see Sans there." Frisk suggests.

"We might as well, someone has to check on my lazy bones of a brother. Nya ha ha." Papyrus leads Frisk out of the house content with how things turned out. Frisk looks back to see Alphys still staring at the number and hopes that everything works out for her.

Undyne watches her friends leave and waits until Papyrus and Frisk have shut the door before exhaling. The entire experience was mentally taxing trying to stay calm and not lose control of herself. She looks down at her girlfriend and asks, "Alphys, what's going on? I get that whatever is going on with you and your mom is personal and I'll help you out no matter what but I need to know what's going on first."

Alphys finally takes her eyes off the number and places the scrap of paper into her pocket before facing her crush. "I….I'm sorry. I should have told you this long ago. It's just…I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. Putting Frisk in danger just to feel like a hero, lying to you just so you'd like me, the Amalgamates….."

Undyne kneels and places a hand on her hunched shoulders. "No one blames you for that Alphys, you were just trying to help those monsters and following orders. It's not like you could have seen it coming." Undyne usually manages to find a way to bring Alphys out of her slump whenever she gets like this, but not this time. If anything Alphys looks worse. The only person that hasn't forgiven Alphys for what happened to the fallen monsters is herself. Even though she did find a way to revive several monsters and reunite them with their families, she considers it one of her greatest failures and regrets. Just thinking about how long she kept them from their families sends her into a deep depression.

"There's no excuse for what I did. All I can do now is make sure they and their families are happy." She turns around, unable to face Undyne and her sympathetic gaze. Undyne hates seeing Alphys beat herself for what she did in the past and hates being unable to help. She feels so powerless being unable to solve something without beating it up. Alphys speaks up before Undyne can offer her any more reassurance. "If you must know, my m-mother and I don't always get along. She's not a bad person, but she can be…inconsiderate."

Undyne does pity Alphys, but finds it a little hard to believe that Ternal could do any harm given how meek she appeared. She seems like a sweet old lady like Toriel. Still Undyne gives Alphys the benefit of a doubt hears her out. "Hey, we still got plenty of tea. Let's go finish it up and talk this over?" Alphys gives a small nod right before Undyne picks her up and carries her into the living room. Once they're sitting down on the couch and sipping tea, Alphys resumes.

"I didn't have many friends growing up. Part of the reason is that I was really shy, but the other reason was that my mother was very protective of me. She didn't like it when I spent time with the kids she thought were dangerous. I ended up spending most of my time reading my mother's old science books and manga she found at the dump. She's actually the one that inspired me want to become a scientist." Undyne can't help but imagine how adorable Alphys must have been as a child. She'd have to ask Ternal if she has any baby pictures the next time she sees her. That would be handled later, right now she had to listen to Alphys.

"She actually taught me a lot about science after school. She knew things that even the teachers at my school didn't know. Whenever I had a question or wanted to learn something new, I could always ask her and she would know the answer. I used to think that she was the smartest person in the Underground." For a second these sound like happy memories but then her tone changes. "The problem is she thought so too. She always had to prove me wrong and point out my mistakes. She was right to do so whenever I messed up on a formula or got a fact wrong but she started taking it too far. Even when I became old enough to make my own decisions, she wouldn't let me hang out with certain kids, she wouldn't let me explore other fields of interest, she even tried to talk me about of applying for the position of the royal scientist. She was overprotective and overbearing. Even after I became the royal scientist, she would look over my notes without permission to make sure that I didn't make any mistakes and questioned my logic constantly. It's like she didn't think I could take care of myself!"

Undyne nods and is starting to get an idea why they aren't getting along. While normally she loves seeing Alphys get worked up this is not one of those times "Alphys, that sounds like it sucks but you should give your mom a chance. Maybe she's changed since you last saw her and wants to make up with you. Why else would she bother looking you up?"

"Well….the last time we talked…we had an argument. I…I don't want to talk about it but it ended with me blowing up in her face. I was so ashamed that I couldn't stand facing her so I locked myself up in my lab and avoided her ever since. I hadn't really thought about her ever since Frisk came along and, well, got us together." Undyne feels something brush against her fingers and noticed Alphys holding her hand and giving it a squeeze. "I've just been so happy with you and Frisk and everyone else that I forgot all my old problems. I just figured that they'd all be left behind once we moved to the surface. I guess I was wrong and now I got you mixed in all of this."

Undyne does more than squeeze her hand back, she pulls Alphys into her lap and wraps her arms around her to hug the nerd. "Stop talking like that! Don't act like this is all your fault. Your mom's the one whose wrong. If she could see you now she'd realize that you're a totally hardcore scientist that's super smart and is the most amazing girlfriend ever!"

Even though she's hugging her way too tight, Alphys still nuzzles into her and tries to hug back. "Thanks Undyne. I appreciate it." She lets go and hops off the couch. She still looks a bit down but not as severely. "I just wish this could all just go away and we can move on from this."

"Well you have her number. Just talk to her, hear her out, and then that's it. You won't have to deal with her anymore." Undyne wants this to be resolved just as much as Alphys and would love to see the mother and daughter patch things up. At the very least Alphys should give her mother the chance to say what she has to say and address the issue. Alphys pulls out the number again along with her phone and contemplates whether she should actually reach out to her or not.

She takes a look back at Undyne and receives a reassuring smile. Reluctantly, she puts the number into her phone. Filled with determination, she texts her mom a simple text reading "hey mom" and hits send. For a moment she feels proud and confident in herself. She can only imagine this is what Undyne feels like most of the time. Everything looks like it's taken care but then sees the ellipses that follow and panics. "GahhhhhH! She's texting back!"

She immediately tosses the phone on the couch and runs away in fear. So much for that determination she had a moment ago. Undyne picks up the phone for her just as it pings to let them know that she just got a new text. It reads "Alphys im so happy to hear you again. Can we tals?", followed by a following text that just read "talk". Since Alphys is unavailable for the moment and possibly hiding in terror, Undyne answers for her. She writes back "not now, lets meet later" and hits send. Before she can go find Alphys and calm her down, Ternal starts writing another message. When it's received, it reads "when can we meet? I reallh want to see u". Followed by another text clarifying that she meant to say 'really'.

Undyne thinks for a second as she considers what to do next. She could ask Alphys but since she can be indecisive and given how agitated the sheepish scientist can get she probably won't be able to give Undyne a straight answer in the next few minutes. Undyne bites her lower lip contemplating what she should do next. She acts on impulse and replies before Ternal gets worried. Undyne types "how about the mall this Sat? we can hang out and have some dinner with my friends". Best case scenario, they patch things up and celebrate. Worst case scenario, Alphys and Ternal never speak to each other again and everyone will be there to support Alphys.

Almost three seconds later she gets a response. " Great! ") " is what she read followed up with "Does 1 PM work for you? Did I do the smiley face right?" Undyne snickers imagining how excited Ternal must be about this. Plus she's as adept at texting as Toriel was when she first got introduced to it. She responds letting her know that its fine and lowers the phone. Everything is arranged, but now comes the hard part: Getting Alphys to go and getting ready for dinner with Alphys's mom.

"Uh, Alphys? Got any plans this Saturday?"

 **Looks like Alphys has her hands full on Saturday. If you're wondering why this chapter is noticeably longer, this was two chapters but the second half felt too short on its own so I combined the two so that people weren't left with a really short chapter. Anyway, I've also decided to set the genre for this story to general since I'm not really sure what to classify it as. It does feel like it would fit in Hurt/Comfort but it does have light hearted moments and not meant to be a complete downer. For now I'll write Papyrus like I would any other character but I may change my mind later on. We'll see. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on what two genres I should classify this as or if I should leave it in general. And as always, I'd appreciate any reviews since this is my first time writing an Undertale Fanfiction and any feedback would be nice.**


	3. Mall Insecurity

**As usual, Toby Fox is the creator and owner of the Undertale series.**

It wasn't easy convincing Alphys to go along with the plan but Undyne managed to talk her into it by promising to watch some dorky anime that Alphys loves but Undyne finds meh. Initially it was enough to persuade her into meeting with her mother but when Saturday came around, Alphys started getting cold feel. Luckily for her, she has a girlfriend that knows just what to say to motivate her.

"ALPHYS GO SPEND TIME WITH YOUR MOTHER OR I'M TORCHING YOUR NERD BOOKS!"

It was an empty threat and Alphys didn't know if Undyne was talking about her research books or her manga but she wasn't going to risk either of them going up in flames. So she gets her butt into the car and rides with Undyne down to the mall. By the time they arrive outside the massive blue structure, Alphys is sweating bullets in her purple sweater and wishing that she could be anywhere else but here.

"Just relax, take deep breaths, and call me if you need anything. I'll meet you at dinner with the others. I got some…..stuff to take care of first." Undyne informs Alphys. She doesn't inquire about what Undyne has planned for the rest of the afternoon since her mind is occupied with other matters. She opens the car door and hops out onto the sidewalk. Undyne immediately slams shut behind her and the window cracks a little bit. "Whoops," Undyne chuckles sheepishly. Undyne wanted to make sure that Alphys couldn't get back in but as usual went too far. The small scientist stifles a snort of laughter and she cracks a small smile. Alphys has had to repair Undyne's ride so many times now that it didn't worry her so much as it did amuse her. She waves goodbye and heads into the mall while Undyne drives off.

As soon as she enters the mall Alphys starts scanning the crowds in search of her mother. She tells herself, "Alright Alphys, get it together. You can handle one day with your mother. That shouldn't be too hard for you. J-just find her and...and..." It only now occurs to her that it may not be so easy to track down her mother. There's a sea of human and monster shoppers walking up and down the mall which she has trouble looking over. Regardless, she marches on in search of Ternal. Alphys passes by various stores and peeks in to a few to see if Ternal is in any of them but with no luck. Occasionally she received glances from humans but most of them seemed to ignore or overlook her. Alphys has to move quickly to avoid bumping into the shoppers that aren't aware of her presence.

"Where is she?" Alphys muttered to herself. After twelve minutes have passed, there hasn't been any sign of her mother anywhere. While her eyes dart around searching for any sign of Ternal her mind starts to wander and she dreads that the worst may have happened. "Did she get lost? Maybe she went to the wrong mall or got the wrong time. She could have been waiting here since it opened, or won't be here until tonight! Maybe I wasn't clear enough." Alphys starts to fret and fear that she's the one that messed up. Just as she is about to reach for her phone and text her mom, another thought rises. "Or...maybe she changed her mind." She lowers her phone and frowns miserably at the possibility. Alphys stops walking and looks down at the floor unbothered by anyone that bumps into her. "Something more important probably came up and she didn't have the time to text me. Or she realized that I'm not worth the time and effort. I've failed her so many times she's probably tired of being disappointed. Why would she ever want to forgive me after I-"

"Alphys! Over here!"

Her train of thought is derailed and she lifts her head up and turns toward the source of the shouting. Lo and behold there's her mother by the benches waving franticly to get her attention. Instantly Alphys perks up seeing Ternal here only to shortly be filled with a returning sense of anxiety and fear that she suffered from prior to entering the building. There's no point in running now. She's already seen Alphys and is going to make a scene if she keeps this up. The short scientist tries her best to look happy to see Ternal, or at the very least not terrified, and walks forward to meet her.

"Um….hello m-moth-" Alphys is immediately cut off as Ternal raises her arms, scoops Alphys up, and wraps her arms around her tightly.

"I was so worried! I thought you had gotten lost or kidnapped or trampled or hurt or sick or-or changed your mind. I'm just so happy to see you." Ternal says as she hugs her daughter. As sweet as this moment is, it's incredibly embarrassing for Alphys. She doesn't have to say anything because Ternal realizes her faux pas and puts her daughter down immediately. "I'm s-so sorry! I didn't mean to do that. I'll ask n-next time, I m-m-mean restrain myself. I mean there d-doesn't have to be a next time, unless you w-want to. If you don't-"

"It's fine Mother." She answers before Ternal can ramble on even further. "You don't have to apologize. Sorry if I kept you waiting." She adjusts her glasses after that spectacle her mother created. A few onlookers had stopped to watch but then quickly went about their business.

"No no, it's my fault. I planned on waiting outside for you but I wasn't sure which entrance you'd come in from and I saw there was a no loitering sign s-so I-I went inside. I would have waited b-by the doors but I was in the way of other people so I had to move. I didn't know what to do so I j-just waited here by the benches for the past hour where I hoped you'd find me."

"You've been here an hour? I thought you said to be here at 2?"

"Oh uh I got here a little early in case you decided to come early. I mean, you probably would have arrived here on time but I didn't want to worry about traffic. Though I'm sure you would have taken that into account…"

"It's fine mother. You don't have to explain yourself." Alphys says before Ternal gets worked up again.

"Oh…you're right. What was I thinking? I'm sure you would have figured it out. A-A-and if you didn't that's perfectly fine." She replies nervously, acting as though she were held hostage and trying not to aggravate her captor. There's a pause as Ternal stops talking and Alphys tries to think of what to say next.

"Um….did you….have lunch yet?" Alphys isn't exactly the best at small talk when she's anxious like this. If Undyne were here, she'd know just what to say and save her the pressure of having to instigate a conversation.

"I…I did. Did you? We can still go and eat, or we could grab a snack, or-"

"I ate before I came here."

"O-Okay. I figured….never mind." Ternal says stopping herself before she goes overboard. "So….where would you like to go?"

"Ummmm…." Alphys could think of a couple places she would want to go to: Boundary's to see if there is any new manga, check out Boiled Subject that sells tons of pop culture merchandise, stop by at an electronics store to admire the human technology, go to the sports store and buy some weights for Undyne. Unfortunately she doesn't feel comfortable bringing her mother to any of those stores so she'll have to choose something else. "We….we could go wherever you like?"

"A-are you sure? I mean of course. I've been meaning to get some new clothes." It's quite evident given that she's wearing a lab coat identical to the one she wore the other day.

"Well then, I…I think there's a store nearby that w-we can check out."

"Excellent. Follow me and- wait! What I mean is um w-why don't you lead the way Alphys? If you don't mind." Ternal suggests at the last moment. Alphys notices that Ternal is acting more jumpy than usual, but then again it's been years since she last encountered her. Though given how that last time turned out, her mother has a good reason to be cautious of what she says. Alphys leads her mother through the sea of customers and towards Stacy's.

They enter the pristine, pearly white store and walk down the aisles looking for something suitable for them. They passed by men's fashion, women's fashion, children's, and eventually reached the newest installation: monster fashion. It's similar to the other lines of clothing but the only major differences between monster clothing and human clothing are that some clothing have additional arm, leg, wing, and/ or tail holes sewn in and they warrant XXS and XXXXL sizes. The two reptilian monsters eye the clothing, occasionally glancing at one another but averting their gaze for the most part.

"So…what are you doing these days? A-are you still the royal scientist? If you're not-" Ternal asks but catches herself before she blurts something offensive out. She stops there and focuses on perusing a neatly folded pile of T-shirts.

"Oh w-well the king is actually having me study human technology and see if I can make any modifications to them with or without… magic" Alphys suddenly regrets admitting that since it sounds potentially dangerous but to her relief it seems that her mother isn't freaking out just yet.

"That sounds.…interesting. Have you had any b-breakthroughs?"

"Well several actually, p-people seem really eager about my jetpack app b-b-but I'm having trouble convincing phone companies to modify their phones so people can u-use them. I'm also working on my ice cream machine and trying to figure out how to make ice cream out of something other than seaweed." Ternal just nods and represses the urge to speak up. For a moment Alphys forgets that this is her mom that she's talking to.

Alphys looks through a rack of dresses browsing for something she's considering wearing on her next date night with Undyne. As nice as her polka dot dress is, she wanted to surprise her love with something new and stylish. Plus it's the only dress she has and Alphys has been meaning to buy some extras in case something should ever happen to it. None of them catch her interest but then she stumbles across one that looks perfect. A flowing golden gown just a few shades darker than her lemon yellow scales with black in the back. It's a little big for her but it looks like so pretty, like something a princess would wear.

She grabs it and takes it into the changing booths to try it on. Ternal spots her heading over there just as Alphys closes the door. She disrobes, places her current clothes on the bench, and slips on the dress to see how it looks on her. Initially she's a little nervous feeling the back of the dress drape over her back with the tip of her tail poking out from behind. She fears that it's too big and that she will look ridiculous in it. Alphys adjusts her glasses and sees herself in the mirror latched onto the door discovering that it suits her nicely. It catches her by surprise since she doesn't wear such elegant attire often. Alphys rarely ever feels pretty unless Undyne flirts or compliments her, and even then there are times where she thinks the former captain is just exaggerating. Yet when she looks at herself in this she actually believes that she looks pretty. She doesn't even bother checking the price, it's too good to pass up.

The little nerd changes out back into the clothes she came in and heads out of the changing booth with the dress in hand. Just as she is about to go pay for it she bumps into her mother, who happens to have some clothes picked out as well. Alphys drops her dress but otherwise she's unharmed and the dress is fine.

"I'm so sorry Alphys, let me get that!" Ternal apologizes, trying to salvage the dress before it gets rumpled up. Alphys tries to grab it before her but the elder monster reaches it first and straightens it out. If she wasn't afraid of tearing the dress Alphys would have yanked it away by now. "Oh, my mistake. I thought you were getting this. I'll just put this back for you."

"A-actually…I was. I-I thought it looked nice." Alphys squeaks out.

"Are you sure? It looks too big for you." Ternal comments, looking over the dress and the price tag.

"It's fine, I t-tried it on and it looks nice. Can I just-"

"It also looks expensive. I'm sure we can find something cheaper that you'll use more often."

"It's not that…I-I mean I'm going to wear it…" She does spot a price tag that does look a little pricey but it's not like she can't afford it. She's saved up plenty of money and she earned enough working for Asgore. Being talked down to like a child is one thing but to imply that Alphys wouldn't likely go out and put that dress to use really irks her.

"I found some shirts that might fit. Why don't you try them on and I'll-"

"Mother STOP! I said that I-" She stops immediately upon realizing she was raising her voice loudly to her mother and seeing the startled look on Ternal's face. The same look she had right during their big fight. Guilt washes over Alphys has her tail curls up and she trembles timidly. "I'm sorry I-'

"No, no I-I-it's fine. I….I'll just um…g-go put these back. You don't need me to pick your clothing." She hands Alphys her dress back and picks up the pile of shirts she selected. Feeling terrible about the situation Alphys snatches the shirt on the top.

"No wait, th-this one looks perfect. I l-love it." She hadn't even inspected it first before blurting that out. It's a brown T-shirt that says 'Science: not just for nerds anymore'. Not only is it tacky but likely meant to be worn ironically. However her mother meant well and she couldn't take back what she said now. "Um…why d-don't you keep browsing and I'll go pay for these."

"Are you sure? I can pay for those if you- I-I mean, if you insist." Ternal corrects herself. Alphys slowly backs away and turns to head to the cashier. She sulks fearing that she may have ruined her chance at patching things up with her mother. If anything, she may have just opened some old wounds.

 **Hope this chapter wasn't too much of a downer. Sometimes I forget just how dramatic this story I can get. Luckily the next chapter should be a little more light hearted in the next chapter. Just a little. I'd like to thank all the people reading this and hope that you're enjoying this. Normally I don't tackle family drama so this is new for me. I appreciate any reviews or comments you leave behind, whether positive or negative, so I know how you feel about my story and if you enjoy it or think it needs work.**

 **If you're curious about what Alphys's dress looks like, I took inspiration from one of Zarla's work on deviantart. If you want to see it, just put together "zarla.", "deviantart." and "com/art/This-will-dazzle-for-sure-627187824" . Hopefully this link should work. Lastly, I'd like to thanks Kiffs for their review and comments. I enjoyed the critique and will try to work on the issues you mentioned.**


	4. Undyne Swallows Her Pride

**Blah blah blah, Toby Fox owns Undertale , blah blah blah.**

Undyne stands stiff looking at the door in front of her hesitant to knock on the door or ring the doorbell. She's half-tempted to make a run for it and bail. However she isn't one to back away from a challenge, especially since she is doing this for Alphys. Not to mention Frisk is standing beside her to back her up and make sure she doesn't bolt. Seeing that comforting reassuring smile calms her down and gives her strength. "C'mon Undyne, you can do this." Frisk cheers.

"We believe in you Undyne!" Papyrus cheers on the opposite side of her. Papyrus is with them too, whether she wants him there or not. She didn't really want him to come, or need him here but he still insisted on tagging along.

"Shut it! You'll ruin my concentration!" She snaps back. Undyne's under enough pressure as is yet deep down she does appreciate the support her friends provide and is lucky to have these two by her side. She takes a deep breath, and then bangs her fist against the pink door. No way is she going to listen to that annoying door bell. A few seconds pass before the door opens up revealing a semi-transparent ghost on the other side.

Frisk grins and waves to his ghostly friend. "Hi Napstablook."

"oh hey frisk…...sorry i took so long…..." Napstablook moans.

"Don't sweat it, we were just wondering-"

"Is Mettaton home?" Papyrus chimes in, only to immediately have Undyne place her hand over his mouth.

"If he's not then can we just take a look at his clothes? Without you telling him or anyone else." Undyne adds agitatedly. She'd threaten him but it's not possible to beat up a ghost as far as she knows. Even if she did Napstablook is too pitiful for her to harm.

"he's here i'll go get him…..." Napstablook fades away leaving the three alone. Shortly after they hear the click and clack of heels coming from inside proceeding the robot who greets them with a flashy smile and a melodramatic pose. Basically, a normal greeting from the rising star known as Mettaton.

"Frisk! What an unexpected surprise!" Mettaton cheerfully says to the young human. "How's my number one fan-" He pauses momentarily upon realizing that Undyne is there too and glares at her. He looks as unhappy to see her as she is to be there.

"I'm doing quite well thank you." Papyrus answers, naively unaware of the animosity between Undyne and Mettaton. "Would it be alright if we come inside? We need your help in a matter that only someone as fashionable as you can resolve. I'd handle this matter myself but you are the only person that is more qualified to resolve the matter."

The robot glances at the perky skeleton and his frown dissolves. Frisk is smiles seeing Papyrus manage to keep this from going down hill. It's hard to explain, but whenever Papyrus is around he always manages to either annoy people or brighten up their day. In Mettaton's case, he always seems to enjoy having the skeleton around. Frisk can only assume either he enjoys the praise Papyrus dishes out or his cheerful attitude is just infectious. "Very well, make yourselves at home."

"Finally." Undyne muttered as Mettaton steps aside to allow his guests in. Undyne can see into the house and it's as flamboyantly bright and pink as the outside. It feels more like a dollhouse instead of a mansion for a celebrity. It's not what she would have gone for but she respects his lifestyle. She reminds herself that she's doing this for Alphys and not to bicker with Mettaton or criticize his home. She summons the resolve to enter and steps forward.

SLAM!

Unfortunately Mettaton slams the door in her face the second Frisk and Papyrus are safely inside. The easily angered monster doesn't take kindly to this and starts shouting for him to let her in and slams her fists on the door. Frisk is reminded of Mettaton's home in the Underground right next to Napstablook's. Everything is a blend of magenta and pink colors, from the walls, to the floors, to the couch, to the flat screen TV. "So can I interest either of you in some snacks? I think Blooky made some food in case we have any guests." Mettaton offers, pretending not to hear Undyne's roars of anger. He leads his guests down the hallway toward the living room. Hanging from the walls are framed pictures of Mettaton in a variety of poses as well as fan mail and fan art that Mettaton has received, each one with a label indicating who it's from. Next to the TV is a bookshelf containing various DVD's and Video Tapes of Mettaton's previous taped performances.

"I made some ghost sandwiches….you don't have to eat them….i know you cant hold them…." Napstablook adds

"Can I get some to go? I can have it for dinner. It's a shame Sans doesn't like them. He says they go right through him." Papyrus says while browsing the tapes, only to stop as something dawns on him. "Wait a second…"

"Could you let Undyne back in? We came here because she really needs your help." Frisk begs. Mettaton folds his arms and scowls at the mention of the fish monster. "I know you two haven't gotten along but-"

"Look Frisk, you know I'd do just about anything for you but I refuse to let that barbarian into my home, let alone help her after what happened last time." The robot turns in a huff, while Papyrus gets his phone out and texts his brother. The banging on the door is getting louder and the shouting more aggressive.

"But Mettaton-"

"No buts about it Frisk. It's going to take some time before I can even look at her again."

Frisk isn't going to give up that easily. Before they can reason with Mettaton, they hear a familiar electronic hum that brings back memories of their time in Waterfall. "Then can you do something else for me?"

Mettaton turns his head a little and asks, "What's that?"

"DUCK!"

A barrage of spears obliterate the door and just barely miss the human and robot who managed to dodge the attack by the skin of their teeth. Papyrus is still on his phone still unaware that he was almost skewered by Undyne's spears which happen to miss him. He receives a response from Sans and growls angrily at the revelation. Frisk receives a text from Sans as well and it reads 'OMG did my bro just get it X)'. Frisk isn't in a position to answer since Undyne is fuming in the door way and marching into the house.

"IF I DIDN'T NEED YOU RIGHT NOW I'D TURN YOU INTO SCRAP METAL!" She yells at the entertainer, who looks more annoyed than terrified of her.

"Ugh, Blooky? Remind me to call Alphys and see if she can send me another door. Apparently this one wasn't strong enough."

"Ok…" The ghost sighs. Mettaton gets backs up and brushes himself off while Frisk does everything they can to hold Undyne back and keep her from killing the star. They may have determination, but they are still just a kid and can't stop the raging monster.

"NOW LISTEN UP! I didn't come here because I want to, but Alphys's mom is in town and I need your help!" Once Undyne stops panting, she calms down just enough so that she can talk to Mettaton without feeling the urge to dismantle the robot with a sledgehammer.

Mettaton rolls his eyes and says, "Oh boy, Alphys must be dreading this. She used to go on and on about her personal problems with me while she was making my body and whenever I came in so she could do maintenance. She mentioned her mother a couple of times but she had a tendency to drone on about her life and anime so I tuned her out most of the time." He cups his chin in thought and adds, "In retrospect that does sound a little inconsiderate."

"That's not the word I'd use, but I can't say it in front of the kid." Undyne remarks. The word she was thinking of would probably upset Toriel if she ever found out Undyne said it in front of Frisk. "Anyway, I came here cause you still owe me a favor and-"

"EXCUSE ME!? I OWE YOU A FAVOR!" He retorts fiercely, losing his usual cheerful attitude.

"Of course! I went on your stupid show like you asked and it got like a bajillion views!"

"You tried to upstage me, nearly hit someone in my audience with your death spears, got batter over my chassis, and during the cooking segment that fire you started destroyed HALF THE SET!"

"Only half? Wowee, you're getting better Undyne." Papyrus congratulates while missing the point entirely.

"What's the big deal? It's not like anybody died. I know cause I got everyone out of there before the firemen arrived."

"By smashing a giant hole in the wall." Mettaton says venomously. "The only reason I haven't pressed charges is because I didn't want to throw a fit in front of my fans and Frisk here begged me not to." Frisk still remembers that day. It took a lot of convincing and buttering up to get Mettaton to let Undyne off the hook. "I'm starting to think I should ask Alphys to reinstall my NEO form."

"I know I screwed up in the past and you hate my guts and I get it. I'd be mad too but this isn't about me. This is for Alphys." Undyne's tone of voice shifts from raging to somber.

"Oh please, first you bring this precious cinnamon roll to help you and now you're using Alphys?" Mettaton accuses as he pats said cinnamon roll on the head and looks at her in disgust.

"Will you shut up for a minute! This is serious! Her mom doesn't know about…us. They haven't talked in years and right now she thinks that I'm just a friend of hers." She rubs her shoulder and looks down at the ground sadly. "You've heard how Alphys's mom is like right?"

He thinks for a moment and Mettaton recalls, "She mentioned about her being picky and protective."

"Yeah well she does that for her friends too. She's been judging Alphys her entire life telling her what she should and shouldn't do, what's right and what's wrong, second guessing every decision she makes. When I first met her, I tried my hardest to make a good first impression. Cause I wanted her to like me, you know? I know I got a bit of a reputation for being…well…."

"Assertive?" Frisk guesses.

"Brutish?" Mettaton adds passively.

"Short tempered? Violent? Aggressive? Dangerous? Grouchy?" Papyrus lists.

"That's enough Papyrus!" She shouts at the skeleton, only to regret that and prove why she's concerned. "Anyway, I tried being extra nice so she'd approve of me and be cool with me dating her daughter. Then Alphys told me what's been going on between the two and how she hates being told she's wrong or that she messed up. That's when I realized that I have to do everything I can so that she likes me. Not just to make me look good, but…so that she doesn't think that Alphys screwed up again. I don't want my future mother-in-law to look at us and think that I'm too reckless and dangerous to be with Alphys or that Alphys made a mistake falling for me. I don't think it was. Being with her is the best thing to ever happen to me."

The human didn't think that Undyne would be so honest with her feelings, or that they would bring Papyrus to the brink of tears. Then again, they didn't plan to bring him along initially. Regardless, the room is dead quiet and right now the human and skeleton are just waiting to see how Mettaton will respond.

"So…if you don't want to help, I get it. We'll get out of your hair. It was a long shot anyway. C'mon guys, maybe Muffet can get me ready for tonight's dinner." Undyne sighs and heads for the door.

"Not so fast." Mettaton extends his hand over, grabs her shoulder, and yanks her closer. He's lucky that he caught her off guard and in such a depressed state or else the monster would have ripped his arm off. "You did call her your mother-in-law correct? Does that mean you're planning on putting a ring on Alphys's stubby claw some day?"

She blushes a little and averts her gaze. "W-well…I mean maybe. Not like tonight or anytime soon but like...maybe one day. Y'know, after some time has passed and we're ready and she doesn't lose her mind when- IF I pop the question." It's obvious that this isn't easy for Undyne to confess but there's no point in denying that she loves Alphys. Frisk and Papyrus can barely contain their excitement at the notion, even though it's not official.

"And you came all the way over here to ask me….for a make-over?" He says as a sly smile creeps on his face. Undyne freaks out a little and backs away from the fashionista, realizing that coming here might have been a mistake. "What!? NO! I mean…I just need to look good enough for tonight's dinner and not intimidate Alphys's mom."

"Is that so? Well why didn't you say so! I'd be delighted to help get you ready for tonight." He says with a beaming smile. Undyne sighs in relief hearing that and smiles a little.

"Thanks, I owe you big time."

"Well naturally dear. I expect to be the first one notified when you plan on popping the question to her, receive my own invitation to the wedding and help plan it, receive exclusive information on it, and I get to take pictures of you trying on the different pieces I have in store for you." That last part has her concerned but if this is what it takes then she has no choice. "Alright fine. You know Alphys will probably invite you and make either you or Papyrus the best man."

"Of course. Frisk, Papyrus, go give Blooky some company. I've got my work cut out for me and this may take a while." Mettaton suggests in a devious tone.

"Actually, they're coming with us. You didn't really think that I brought the kid just to get some pity points did you?" She said with a smug look. "The kid's here to make sure that you don't make me look too ridiculous." Frisk nods confirming what Undyne says.

"Hmmm shrewd. Is that why you also brought Papyrus?" Mettaton clarifies.

"No, he jumped in front of our car while we were at a stop sign. He wouldn't get out of the way unless we let him tag along."

"Since you were getting a make-over, I thought I'd come along and get one as well. The Great Papyrus has to always look his best!" Papyrus explains.

"The more the merrier I suppose. Go upstairs, third door on your right, and you'll find my dressing room and wardrobe. It's right past my journal room." The robot instructs them. Undyne and Frisk get a head start, the former whispering to the latter, "How many rooms does he need?"

Mettaton and Papyrus are about to follow up when Papyrus tells the celebrity, "Between you and me, I didn't come here for a make-over. I came because the human and Undyne have no sense in fashion."

"Really?"

"Of course. Undyne wears suits of armor and the human will wear anything, even an old worn out tutu."

"Hmm, good point. You certainly are a life saver Papyrus."

 **As much as I'm sure you'd like to see a makeover montage, I'm sure whatever your imagination can conjure up will likely be better than anything I think up. This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Makes me consider writing more Undertale but I'm still on the fence with that. Anyway, get ready cause next time we'll see how dinner goes between Ternal and Alphys's friends. Please comment and subscribe, I read and appreciate any reviews I receive. Kiffs, hope this chapter makes up for the lack of Undyne in the last chapter. Terrietont, glad you enjoy my story as well. I try my best to make it heart warming.**

"The Great Papyrus is doing what needs to be done, and what needs to be done is Undyne needs a make over."

"And how."


	5. Making Small Talk

**I do not own Undertale, it belongs to Toby Fox**

The rest of afternoon had gone down hill after the incident at Stacy's. The entire time Ternal kept a watchful eye on her daughter, the farthest she let Alphys go was about 10 ft. She didn't talk as much yet she still found ways to monitor her daughter. When they walked past Boiling Subject to see if they had any new anime merchandise, Ternal had to drag her away because of the demonic interior and the goth kids inside browsing. When they passed by a kiosk selling remote helicopters and drones, Ternal stood in front of her shielding Alphys from the nonexistent threat. Even when they stopped by Mel's Movies so that Alphys could find something for her and Undyne to watch, Ternal was looking over her shoulder trying to peek at what Alphys is checking out. Alphys ended up leaving empty handed and more irritated by her mother's intrusive behavior.

It's not only humiliating for Alphys, but completely frustrating. She wants to assure her mother that everything is fine and that she shouldn't overreact but after what happened at Stacy's, Alphys doesn't want to risk frightening Ternal off. At least she can look forward to dinner tonight since Undyne will be there along with some of her friends. It's a shame she doesn't know which ones are coming. However since Undyne had dropped her off and planned to meet her at the restaurant, that meant she had to get a ride from her mother. The ride is as unpleasant as one would expect although thankfully Alphys has her phone to pass the time. Her phone pings and she sees that Undyne texted her a few minutes ago letting her know where they'd be meeting.

"Who was that?" Ternal asks curiously.

"J-just Undyne. Everyone is going to be there soon so we can go ahead and grab a table. Just take a right up here." One turn later and they can see the restaurant ahead of them. To Alphys's surprise it's Grillby's 2.0. Alphys is starting to regret letting Undyne set all of this up and even see the anxious look on her face. Once they find a parking spot, she reaches to undo her seat belt when Ternal suddenly blurts out, "Alphys….I know today hasn't been that good of a day but…I-I'm positive that dinner will be able to make up for all of it. So…let's try to think positive and have a good time?" She says with a sheepish smile.

She knows that Ternal meant well but to her it sounds like she's patronizing Alphys. "Um okay?"

They enter the restaurant and take a seat over at a table meant for eight. The interior looks just like the original restaurant, featuring wooden floors and walls tinted like red wine with the titular Grillby at the bar serving drinks. It's a lot bigger than the original pub back in the Underground and there's even a few humans and monsters working. She can kind of see why Undyne chose to eat her. After all, Grillby's 2.0 has become a haven for monsters and humans since it opened. It's one of the town's most noticeable attractions. Alphys and Ternal sit close to each other wondering where the rest of their party is at. Alphys raps her fingers against the table hoping that Undyne will at least bring Papyrus or Sans along. At least they can direct the attention away from her. At the very least the music playing from the jukebox manages to ease her just a bit.

Ternal looks more on edge than usual, to which Alphys first assumes that it's because she is nervous about meeting Alphys's friends. Alphys is nervous too but has faith that her friends will behave and impress her mother. "Um A-Alphys? Do you see where the nearest fire extinguisher is?" Ternal asks timidly. It's an odd question that confuses Alphys but then she notices that Ternal's glancing over at Grillby and she manages to put two and two together.

"Oh don't worry mother, everything in here is fireproof. I know because...I know the builder personally. They're a good friend of mine." She explains.

"W-well...if you're certain..." Ternal eases up a bit but still looks unhinged. Alphys frowns and looks away hating that she had to lie. The building is safe from burning down but if she told Ternal that she had a hand in constructing this restaurant, Alphys knows that her mother would just fret about her making a mistake while planning. She could really use her friends right about now to take her off of this.

Thankfully the rest of the party arrives shortly after and are ready to interact with Alphys's mother. Undyne steps out of the car trying to steady herself in the heels Mettaton picked out for her. She's about to lose her stepping and fall flat on her face when Frisk manages to stop her at the last second. "Thanks kid. Just need a sec." She waves off the human and tries to walk on her own. Mettaton walks by looking a bit smug at Undyne as he walks with Papyrus to the restaurant easily. Watching her is like watching someone ice skate for the first time while on stilts. Undyne can tell Mettaton did this on purpose but she is too prideful to ask for help. So while she gradually makes her way to the restaurant, everyone else continues without her. Papyrus is the first one to get inside and search for the royal scientist.

"THERE THEY ARE! I FOUND THEM!" Proclaimed Papyrus, alerting the two yellow monsters and everyone in the restaurant that they had arrived. He is wearing his usual attire with the addition of a small bow tie on his chest plate. Mettaton walks up behind him dressed in a suave tuxedo and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Thank you Papyrus but maybe we should use our indoor voice. I don't want to draw attention to myself and get us swarmed by my fans." There's a brief pause where Frisk and Napstablook follow the two monsters in but during that time no one made an effort to rush to Mettaton. Like Papyrus, Frisk and Napstablook didn't really do much to dress up. Napstablook wears his top hat made of ghostly tears and Frisk has their hair combed down. Before the door closes a certain eye-patch wearing monster can be heard grunting and swearing outside.

"All my voices are indoor voices, that I know of. Besides, I'm sure your fans know not to harass you. If not, I shall protect you and sign as many autographs as I need to."

"My hero." Mettaton says flatly with a roll of his eyes and a small, appreciative smile. "Now let's not keep them waiting." The four make their way over to the Alphys's table where she is both relieved and perplexed to see them, with Ternal mostly being the latter.

"G-goodness, I didn't think so many of your friends were c-coming." Ternal says.

"Neither did I." Alphys adds under her breath. Mettaton takes a seat across from Alphys and next to Ternal, with Papyrus sitting parallel and Frisk and Napstablook sitting on Alphys's side leaving the seat next to her available for a certain fishy woman.

"oh….i can leave if you want….i don't want to impose…." Napstablook sighs.

"I told you Blooky, it's perfectly fine." Mettaton assures. "We're all friends here."

"well ok….if youre sure"

"Um i-i-it's nice to meet you." Ternal speaks up, "It's s-so nice to finally m-meet Alphys's friends. I think you look familiar." She says to Mettaton, who beams upon being recognized.

"Is that so? Could it be from my new prime time television show? My glamorous work-out videos? That marvelous internet video of me wowing my first human audience in Hop Skip Dance Time?"

"Uh…n-no. I haven't actually s-seen any of th-those. I don't watch that much television. I-I've heard much a-about you." She says, a little flustered by the robot's glistening personality.

"WHAT!? How could this be?" Papyrus exclaims. "That's like saying you've never had nice cream."

"It's alright Papyrus, I'm sure that she can watch it once my new DVD comes out showcasing all my finest moments. It wasn't easy given how glorious they all are."

"You must have a keen eye to pick the best of the best. You must be so good at the Junior Word Scramble." The two seem to have forgotten about the rest of party and gotten engulfed in their own conversation. The situation isn't going exactly how Alphys imagined it but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's not horrible but it's not exactly better.

Ternal directs her attention at Alphys and inquires, "I-Is Undyne going t-to be here? I assumed since she's y-you live together and all…"

"I….um….well…." Alphys stammers frigidly. Again she has no idea what Undyne is up to or where she could possibly be. She may have to lie again to cover for Undyne.

"Sorry I'm late." Said a familiar gruff voice. Everyone turns to see Undyne but to the surprise of Alphys she isn't wearing her usual attire. Instead, she's sporting a slimming purple dress that goes down to her ankles, where her boots have been replaced with a stylist set of heels. A black belt is tied around her waist and over her shoulders is an unbuttoned, ebony leather jacket. It's a combination that makes her look elegant yet tough. "Had some trouble getting here."

Most of the group isn't shocked since they helped Undyne pick out the outfit. Ternal is surprised to see Undyne in such an attire since its different from what she wore the first time they met. As for Alphys, it's been eight seconds and she hasn't picked her jaw off the ground yet. If she were in an anime, this would be the moment where she'd have a serious nosebleed from staring at the most beautiful girl around. The shock wears off before her mother notices but it doesn't exactly help Alphys with her anxiety now that the stunning soldier is now sitting next to her.

It's clear that everyone put some effort into their appearance whereas Alphys was wearing the same clothes she wore earlier that day. Even Papyrus and Frisk put some effort into dressing up in their own way. She looks down at her clothes and cringes a little. Before she can wallow in self-pity, Undyne says to her, "So how'd your trip to the mall go?"

As if that question isn't uncomfortable enough to answer, it seems like everyone at the table wants to know for themselves. Her eyes dart back and forth timidly. She can't give them an honest answer since the trip to mall was a disaster and she failed to make amends with her mother.

"I…uh…. I….I….I need to go get something!" She leans over to her mom and asks, "Can I have your keys? I need to get something from the car."

"B-but Alphys, we just got here a-and the waiter will….will….never mind." She submits and fishes out the keys from her purse. Once she pulls them out, Alphys snatches them and dashes out of the restaurant. Undyne is tempted to go after her to make sure that her girlfriend doesn't try to drive away but she spent too much time getting ready for this to have it be all ruined so she has faith in her love that she will be back soon. Plus she can barely move in these heels so there's no way she'll be able to run anytime soon.

"Do you think she's getting visual aids for her story?" Papyrus wonders now that he has stopped praising Mettaton.

"Y-You'll have to excuse her. Alphys doesn't do well with crowds. Although she's doing much better than when she w-was a child." Ternal explains.

"What was she like back then?" Frisk chimes in, curious to learn more about her past.

"Um well…she…she was a very sensi-sitive child. She took longer to develop than other children. Alphys used to be so small and fragile, her HP was much lower than the other children." Undyne tries to imagine what her girlfriend must have looked like as a kid and has trouble handling the cuteness of the mental picture that she conjured up.

"Then you'll be happy to know that she is still small and fragile. She's the same as always." Papyrus assures her.

"I'm not so sure. I'm worried that she may be getting a little…. reckless." Ternal admits. Undyne's used to hearing that word, since most people call her that, but she doesn't take kindly to someone saying that about her girlfriend.

She narrows her eyes at the elder monster and asks, "What's that supposed to mean?" For a moment, Frisk and Mettaton share a worried look fearing that Undyne might lose her composure and ruin everything.

"I-I mean she seems more adventurous than usual. She's always been a curious child and used to be satisfied with reading my old textbooks and watching the cartoons I found for her but occasionally she'd wander off and do something dangerous like perform magic unsupervised or talk to strangers. I'm worried that Alphys isn't safe up here and that her curiosity is going to get her in to trouble again."

"That's just," Undyne stops herself and corrects what she was originally going to say, "silly. Alphys knows how to handle herself. We've never met a monster more cautious in all our lives."

"Of course, Alphys isn't the type of monster to act on a whim and do something crazy." Frisk assures her. As if on cue, Alphys returns wearing the dazzling gown she bought that afternoon.

"Uh h-hey guys. Sorry about th-that. I had to go ch-change." She says with her cheeks flushed. Speaking of flushed cheeks, now it's Undyne's turn to be amazed by how gorgeous her girlfriend looks right now. The same can be said for everyone else at the table, except for Papyrus who doesn't really see what the big deal is. Alphys takes her seat next to Undyne but feels uneasy about everyone looking at her. It's hard to tell if they like it or hate it. Suddenly this doesn't feel like as good an idea as it did earlier.

Ternal starts to say something but then Mettaton interrupts her praising, "Well look at you Alphys! You look positively fabulous. I never thought you could pull off a number like that."

"It certainly is shiny." Papyrus adds. Frisk just gives her a thumbs up and a supportive smile. Her discomfort melts away as a smile slowly forms. That is, until Ternal speaks up.

"Um yes b-b-but don't you think it's a l-little inappropriate here? I-I mean shouldn't you put something more c-c-casual on?"

"Are you kidding! She looks hot!" Undyne lets out, immediately resulting in a few seconds of awkward silence. The couple blush brightly as the fish monster tries to make up what she blurted out. "I mean... she looks too hot. You know like with heat. Her clothes must have been suffocating. She should at least get a breeze now. Maybe someone should open a window."

"I'm on it!" Papyrus exclaims. He stands up ready to leap into action but Mettaton quickly stops him before he can cause a scene.

"That won't be necessary. We can just ask someone here to do that. Look, here comes the waiter now."

Grilby comes over with a notepad and an expressionless face. "…...what'll it be?"

"Nothing for me, I don't really need to eat." Mettaton replies.

"Uhhh I guess I'll go with a salad? And don't skimp on the dressing and croutons." Undyne answers.

"I…I guess I'll have the…soup of the day." Ternal selects. "And Alphys will-"

"I'll go with the burger and fries." She quickly interrupts, before her mother can finish. Ternal detects the tone in her daughter's voice and silences herself before she makes things worse.

"Um, I'll have that too." Frisk adds while sensing the tension going on between the two monsters.

"i'll just have water…." Napstablook moans.

"I'll have the usual." Sans orders.

"Yes and I'll have- SANS!" Papyrus shouts, upon realizing his brother had joined them at the end of the table sitting between him and the depressed ghost. "What are you doing here on our date?" Hearing Papyrus call this a date catches everyone by surprise, mortifies Alphys, and causes Undyne to do a spit take.

"A d-d-d-date? I didn't realize your skeleton friend is on a date. Is it with him?" She asks referring to Mettaton, who tries to hide his flustered face behind his menu.

"N-no one is here on a date, mother." Alphys clarifies.

"But we're wearing clothing and going out to eat. Doesn't that happen to people on a date?" Papyrus asks confused as to what everyone was worked up about.

"You can wear clothes and go out to eat and not be on a date." Frisk explains. It's going to take a while to properly explain this all to Papyrus but now isn't the time. "Anyway what are you doing here Sans?"

"Oh you know sitting, talking to ya, ordering food, makin' a cameo. Alphys invited us all out to meet her mom remember? Thanks for the invite Alphys."

Ternal glances at her, the fidgeting female who's unsure what to say. Undyne was the one who planned all this out so Alphys has no clue what's was supposed to happen or who would be coming. She doesn't want to come off as being suspicious so she just nods and says, "Uh yeah, th-thanks for c-c-coming."

"no sweat. So pap, what are you getting? You got plenty of pasta-bilities in front of ya." Sans asks, a rimshot being played in the distance. No one's quite sure from where.

"Hrgghhh," Papyrus growls, but manages to keep his cool. "Actually I was going to get the lasagna."

"Of c- wait really?" Undyne questions.

"Yes. Why do you sound surprised?"

"No reason. We don't have any beef with you." Sans jokes earning a glare from his brother. "So speaking of dates, did you guys tell Ternal about-"

"-the time I uh beat my car tossing record? No, but she doesn't care about what date it's on and even if she did, _we'd rather tell her in private_." Undyne interrupts.

"C-c-c-car tossing?" Ternal repeats.

"Uh, did I say car tossing? I mean... um... the car tossing...video game. Yeah! That's it. I found this app that was totally addictive and totally not violent. I got rid of it so uh you can't see it."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Congrats anyway. That must have been a hard record to _brake."_ The mysterious rimshot plays again while Papyrus groans. "Besides, she doesn't need to know that. Just the important stuff, like what you've been up to and who you're seeing. So what about you Ternal? What do you do these days?"

Ternal, and most of the part, are surprised to see Sans just ask her so casually. While normally Frisk does enjoy Sans' puns now and then, it seems like Sans isn't here to just tell some puns. The human can't help but wonder what Sans is up to.

"I um I r-repair broken machinery. I've had practice in the underground wh-whenever I found anything useful at the dumps. I also fixed broken puzzles in Hotlands and researched ways to preserve the limited technology that we stumbled across." Ternal answers.

"Bet ya have tons of clients up here on the surface. Humans really love their tech. Seems like they're always on their phones or something, even when they go to _gigabyte_ to eat." The rimshot plays again, arousing suspicion.

"Oh n-not really. I still live in the Underground. There are still monsters that live down there that need my help. Business isn't g-great but I have very l-loyal customers."

"So that's where Alphys gets her smarts from." Mettaton interjects, "You must have taught her all she knows about robotics. I can always count on her whenever I need a tune-up and to be in tip-top shape for my performances."

"That's very sweet of you b-but she learned that all by herself. She's come along way since her first official project." She pauses to reflect on this and recall the project in question. "I think it was back before she became the royal scientist. Alphys was working on this small, rectangular robot she was going to present to the king. I'm sure most of you know already how well that turned out but her original designs were a little…silly."

"Silly?" Mettaton reiterates, apparently knowing what Ternal is referring to.

"Well no, not silly. It's the best word I could think of other than um...well...provocative or um gaudy. It had these long feminine legs and silky hair like a girl b-but looked kind of like a man. I wasn't quite sure what it was." Frisk cringes a little looking across the table and seeing the hurt look on Mettaton's face that Ternal is oblivious too. Undyne looks over at Alphys and notices her hands balled up under the table.

"Th….there was nothing wrong with those designs." Alphys asserts. Her lips curled down as she fights back the urge to shout.

"Hmm? Oh uh well no, they were….unique but it's not as good as the one you went with. It was much m-more simpler and easier to make."

"I….I know but if I wanted I could have made the other one."

"I know your heart was s-set on it but it was for the best. If I recall, it was much weaker structurally and consumed more power. Not to mention impractical and too high maintenance. The king loved what you made, and made that other one look like an embarrassment. As kind as he is, I doubt he'd take that other one seriously."

Mettaton squirms a little in his seat, the words piercing him like a knife. All of this talk just brings back the painful memories that he's tried to look past yet ache to this day. Even Napstablook and Papyrus are starting to notice and grow concerned. Undyne is about to reach her breaking point and tell off Ternal but someone else beats her to it.

"Of course everyone takes him seriously, everyone loves Mettaton the way he is!" Alphys shouts in rage, much to the shock of everyone at the table. "The only reason that I went with that blocky design was because you coerced me to. You did what you always do and point out all the flaws in my choices and make me feel stupid. You never believe in me."

"A-Alphys….that's not….I do….." The shock of Alphys's burst of rage and realizing the machine she criticized is sitting a few seats away from her has her overwhelmed and unable to talk.

"You always have to prove that you're always right about everything and never let me do anything on my own without making me feel like garbage. I could have impressed Asgore with Mettaton's current form. I could have made more friends as a kid. I could have stopped myself from making the amalgamates!"

The scientist is out of breath after that short tirade and left the entire restaurant speechless. Undyne's only seen this side of her girlfriend when she's defending her favorite TV show, and even then Alphys has never been this vicious. Even Mettaton, appreciative as he was that someone stood up for him, is amazed at what Alphys just claimed.

Under different circumstances, Alphys might have been proud of being able to stand up for herself against someone that has been belittling her for most of her life. Not this time. Reality hits her hard as it starts to sink in what she just did while looking at the pained, sorrowful look on Ternal's face.

"I…..I…. I didn't…." At this point she's the one tearing up now. She leaps off her seat and shouts, "I'm sorry!" The reptilian woman bolts out of the restaurant sobbing just as their food arrives. Undyne steps up and shouts, "Alphys wait!" Mettaton gets up as well to go after her but Undyne falls tripping Mettaton accidentally. Frisk, Papyrus, and Napstablook help the two while Ternal just sits there and processes everything that just happened. Her head in her hands, she mutters to herself, "No no no no no, not again."

"Stupid shoes." Undyne curses under her breath. She pulls them up off and gets back up onto her feet to go after her girlfriend. By the time she gets outside Alphys has already disappeared. Undyne looks for any sign of Alphys while overcome with fear, sympathy, and growing rage.

Frisk is the only to check on Ternal who's already tearing up. "Ternal? I know you're upset but Alphys didn't mean that. She just wanted to defend her friend and got carried away." The human puts a comforting hand on her shoulder causing her to look down and face the child. "No, she's right about everything. I'm a terrible mother and deserved everything she said." Frisk tries to comfort her but it doesn't look like it will be enough to help Ternal. Papyrus and Napstablook check with Mettaton to see if he is alright, although he has it easy compared to Ternal and Alphys.

"Uh Grillby? You might want to bag those and put them on my tab." Sans tells the bartender.

Undyne stomps back over to the table looking pissed and holding her heels. "Ngaaaah, Alright LISTEN UP!" She roars, silencing everyone at the table and in the restaurant. "Alphys just ran off into the city alone and sobbing her eyes out and we need to find her STAT! Sans, take the kid home!"

"Sure thing." He says, taking Frisk's hand and leading them out. "C'mon kid, I know a short cut." Frisk reluctantly follows but would rather help find Alphys.

"Mettaton, Napstablook, Papyrus, you go ahead and check every nook and cranny Alphys might hide in. And YOU!" She says referring to Ternal. She marches over and picks up the motherly monster by her shirt collar and orders, "You're coming with me!"

"Wh-wh-what!? Me? Wh-Why?" She whimpers.

"Because out of everyone here, you and I know Alphys better than anyone. One of us is bound to know where Alphys ran off. GOT IT?" Ternal meekly nods before Undyne lifts her over her head. "ALRIGHT! Let's head out!" She carries the lithe lady out of the restaurant and places her in the passenger seat of her car. She slides across the hood, hops into the driver's seat, and drives out of the parking lot before Alphys can get any farther. The others follow shortly and begin the search for Alphys.

 **Another heavy chapter. Wish I could have put a warning up but I thought it might count as a spoiler. Once again, I took inspiration for Undyne's dress from a great piece of artwork from Deviantart. While I can't place an actual link, I can tell you that the artist is narolinde. You can find it just by checking out their gallery and finding the one pic of Undyne with a purple dress. Anyway, the story should be coming to an end soon. Expect the last few chapters to be posted this upcoming week. As always, please comment and post reviews. I love getting feedback that I can use to improve my writing and let me know people enjoy my work.**


	6. The Falling Out

**I don't own Undertale, it was created by Toby Fox. Just to avoid any confusion, any paragraphs in italics are meant to be flashbacks.**

Undyne scans the streets ahead of her driving so she doesn't end up accidentally passing Alphys. Thankfully not many local monsters drive so there isn't much traffic for them to worry about. The streetlights and illumination from stores brighten up the sidewalk enough for her to look for her girlfriend but she's nowhere to be seen. In her peripheral vision Undyne still sees Ternal miserably sitting in the passenger seat. Undyne grits her teeth and stays focused on the road. If she didn't need the mother's help Undyne would have ditched her back at the restaurant. They stop by a comic book store and Undyne looks past Ternal to peer inside. "You see her anywhere?"

Ternal shakes her head and then Undyne drives off to the next place she can think of Alphys might run off to. She checks off the comic shop off her mental list of places Alphys would go to and plans out where to go next. At the same time, Undyne dreads what her precious nerd must be going through. Sulking all alone, beating herself up over all this, all while wearing that gorgeous dress. Those thoughts drive Undyne to find her faster, just like it does Ternal. The mother desperately wants to make sure Alphys is okay but she knows she isn't and it's all her fault.

"Undyne….just let me out at the next light. Even if we find her, she's not going to want see me. I'd just make things worse."

"We ARE going to find her and you two are settling this once and for all. I don't care if it takes all night, she needs us whether she likes it or not!" Undyne isn't holding back now anything now allowing Ternal to see Undyne for who she really is.

Farther away, Mettaton waits in Papyrus's car while said skeleton is inside the Spider's Parlor Bakery. Mettaton keeps a watchful eye out in case Alphys passes by while he listens to some music. Napstablook let him borrow his headset to listen to some calming tunes after the incident back at Grillby's 2.0. The ghost may not be as optimistic or cheerful as his cousin, but knows what music will boost his spirits. When Papyrus comes back Mettaton lowers the headphones and opens the door for him. "She hasn't been here but I did obtain some pastries for us. Muffet was insistent that I have some and even more so that I pay her for them." Papyrus hands a spider donut to the cousins and saves his for later.

"Thank you Papyrus but I don't… oh screw it." He takes a bite out while Papyrus gets the car rolling. He doesn't really need to eat but Mettaton does enjoy the taste. "She may overcharge everyone but that girl knows how to make a mean donut."

"I'm glad you like it! Sweets are perfect for whenever you feel down. I thought for certain that Alphys would have gone there to cheer herself up." Papyrus explains to them. Napstablook eats his but the chewed up bits just end up floating in his transparent stomach.

"I hope you're not speaking from personal experience."

"Sans usually gets me something whenever I feel down. Then he ruins the moment with one of his puns but up to the point it's quite thoughtful." Mettaton chuckles a little and enjoys the rest of the donut. "I'm sorry you weren't enjoying the date."

Mettaton gulps and responds, "I-it's alright Papyrus, it wasn't an actual date. Just a little get together with friends. Though if it was you'll be happy to know that you were a perfect gentleman."

"Even so, it didn't look like you were enjoying yourself. Was it something I did?"

"No! No you were an absolute sweetheart. It's just… those old designs Ternal talked about where for my current EX form. Her inconsiderate mother's badmouthing got to me and reminded me of some hurtful criticism I used to receive." His eyes look down at his sleek legs and pinkish colors, the very ones Ternal mocked.

"Who would dare criticize you!" To Papyrus, Mettaton is absolute perfection as a celebrity. Then again the Underground didn't have many celebrities.

"It happened long ago before Alphys made me this body." He says recalling his past. "Growing up with Blooky on the snail farm, there wasn't much for me to do but write in my diaries and watch old video tapes of human entertainment. I wanted so much to be like them and entertain the masses with my skills but I knew my incorporeal form just wouldn't do the trick. No one took me seriously when I practiced and thought I looked ridiculous trying to act like a star. Everyone but Blooky made fun of me and if not for Alphys I would never have achieved my dream and be happy in my own body. I thought I had finally found acceptance but it seems….I still have some critics out there."

"They were talking about you? Well why didn't you say anything?"

"Because it was an important dinner for Alphys. It was her big moment to shine and I know from experience that you shouldn't steal the spotlight from the star. I owed it to her since I wouldn't be who I am today without her."

"But she was wrong. You aren't silly or gawdy or whatever that third thing was. You're Mettaton! Everyone loves you just the way you are. I've never met a robot so stylish before. Well I haven't met any robot aside from you, but my point still stands."

"You're too sweet Papyrus." He responds with a sniffle. "If only your brother could be this thoughtful."

"I'm sure he is. Those thoughts are just wasted on puns. Now dry those eyes and let's keep looking."

Speaking of Sans, he's walking down the sidewalk holding Frisk's hand. His grip is tight but isn't crushing the human's hand, just keeping them from getting away. "Sans could you please let go? I'd like my hand back."

"Fraid not kiddo. Undyne says she wants me to take you home, and I know you're going to bolt the second I let go to look for Alphys." Frisk frowns seeing as Sans picked up on what they were planning. "Look kid, it's sweet what you're trying to do but it's not gonna help. Toriel wouldn't be too happy if I told her that her kid ran off looking for a runaway monster and now they're both missing. Am I right?" The human shakes their head knowing that Toriel would be worried sick if that happened.

"I guess not but I'm still worried about her. She was so close to making up with her mom."

"Kid, leave the jokes to me. Those two weren't even close to patchin' things up."

"What do you mean?" Up until Sans brought up Ternal's job, everything seemed to work great. At least, that's what Frisk thought.

"You didn't notice how Alphys didn't say a word about their afternoon together or how she acted when Ternal tried ordering for her? Shopping and dinner aren't enough to solve what's going on. Those two need a heart to heart moment."

"How do you know? Why were you even there?"

"Papyrus told me everything that happened after your cooking lesson. It sounded like they had some serious issues to deal with and I had a feeling you'd try and get involved. So I stopped by tonight to see how bad the damage was and man, I'm surprised she kept it together for that long."

"So it was all pointless?" The human asks dejectedly

"Not entirely, but it didn't help that Alphys was leaving you guys in the dark and not saying anything about it. All it took was her mom upsetting a friend and badmouthing her work for her to open up and finally clue us in."

"Don't say it like that. It's hard for Alphys to talk about this kind of stuff."

"True but you got to look before you leap and take in the whole story, otherwise you'll be jumping to conclusions." Somewhere in the distance a rimshot could be heard. "If she wants your help, she's got to help you out first; starting with telling you what happened between her and Ternal." They come to a stop and Frisk suddenly realizes that they're no longer on the sidewalk but somewhere in the woods. "Maybe you should go ask and see if she'll tell you this time." Before Frisk can ask what Sans is talking about there is sobbing in the distance. Frisk gasps realizing who it is and then turns to Sans. "Undyne said to take you home, and that's what I'm doing." He shrugs and says, "We're just taking a short cut is all, and happened to come across Alphys along the way." He gets a smile and a hug from the human, whose hair he rustles. Frisk follows the sound of sobbing to find their friend.

* * *

"UGH! Where is she!" Undyne growls. This is the fifth place they've gone to and they haven't gotten any closer to finding out where Alphys could be. "How does someone with such little legs just disappear? I mean, I can do that but I'm pretty sure she can't." She turns to Ternal and checks, "She can't, can she?"

She sighs and shakes her head. "As far as I know she can't, but what do I know? Clearly I know nothing about my own daughter. I never even trained her to use magic properly."

"Snap out of it! Alphys got her smarts from you, so you have to know some way to find her. She has to be somewhere around here. Even she couldn't have gotten more than a few blocks. Unless she finally worked out the kinks in her jetpack app then…ah crud." Undyne slams her head against the wheel in frustration and restrains herself from tearing the wheel off.

"This is what I mean! You know more about her than I ever could. I don't know why I ever thought about finding her. She'll never forgive me after what happened last time."

"NYAAAAA! I AM SO SICK OF THIS! I'm sick of you and Alphys beating yourself up over nothing! I'm sick of feeling sorry for you even after all that's happened! AND I'M SICK OF HEARING ABOUT THIS FALLOUT YOU TOO HAD AND NOT BEING TOLD WHAT HAPPENED!" She takes her hands off the wheel and pulls Ternal close enough that she can see her reflection in Undyne's dagger-like fangs. "TELL ME WHAT HAPPENED OR ELSE-"

"OK OK OK I'LL TELL YOU! Just please keep your eyes on the road!" Ternal pleads. A set of headlights shine on their car just as Undyne realizes they're drifting into the other lane. "AHHHHHHHH!" Ternal screams as Undyne spins the steering wheel just in time to swerve back into their lane. Undyne steadies her nerves while Ternal hyperventilates. Instinctively Undyne reaches over to her again but this time gently pats her head and then rubs her back. Ternal is still busy recovering from almost crashing to bat away Undyne's hand. On the plus side, it is calming her down.

Undyne removes her hand before it gets anymore awkward and focuses on the road. "Sorry, force of habit. Not the part where we almost crashed but the petting. It usually works when Alphys needs help calming down."

She meekly nods and wrings her hands together. "You…you really care about Alphys, don't you?"

"Of course," Undyne answers without hesitation, "I'd do anything for that dork. Even if it means getting all dressed up to impress you or put up with you insulting our friends." Her rage has simmered but wavering at this point. Ternal lets this sink in for a moment and consider everything that has happened because of her.

With a heavy sigh, she says, "Then you deserve to know what happened between us and how it all came to this." Ternal pauses to take a deep breath and ready for herself. "Alphys... was a very special child that I couldn't be prouder of having. I'm not referring to her gifted intelligence but rather her abnormally low HP. Whereas most monsters start off with 8 or 10 HP, she came into the world with a meager 3 HP. I loved her just the same yet the fact that she could easily be destroyed filled with me terror. A child could have potentially reduced her to dust with only a hit. I had to take every precaution that I could."

Undyne asks, "What about her dad? Where does he fit into all this?"

"He worked as a puzzle constructor in Hotlands. He helped redesign and realign puzzles and defenses. However it was too dangerous to raise Alphys in such a place so she and I moved while her father stayed there. He'd visit her whenever he had time off and teach her how to make puzzles and solve them. He always wanted to challenge Alphys mentally and have her strive to do better. Whenever I saw her smiling with a completed puzzle and her father beaming with pride, I had hope that she was going to turn out fine."

Undyne glances over when Ternal stops speaking and sees her with a small smile staring blissfully out the window lost in thought. The memory sounds like a pleasant one that Undyne hates to interrupt but Ternal has yet to address the issue she and Alphys had. So she clears her throat and stirs the mother back out her daydream. "Sorry, I'll keep going." Ternal apologizes.

"When Alphys was old enough to go to school, I had to let her go be with the other children. She needed an education and I couldn't keep her holed up in my house forever. There were... incidents at school with the other children who teased and bullied her. I almost pulled her out we managed to work things out before I could get the chance to. I still kept track of her to make sure none of her classmates bothered her during school and made sure she came right after school. The only girls she spent time with were these two girls that seemed to like her. They were so peppy and friendly and synchronized…"

"Bratty and Catty?" Undyne checks. "I used to bump into them a couple times on my patrols when I was still Captain of the Royal Guard. They never listen to me when I tell them to stay out of places. I had to take Catty to get her stomach pumped when she ate some bad glamburgers at the Dump."

"Oh the Dump! Alphys and I had so many good memories there. Alphys loved going there with me to scrounge around for any useful materials or artifacts from the human world. She always treated it like a treasure hunt. Maybe she's there now."

"Doubt it." Undyne corrects. "They got that place locked up now and Alphys doesn't need to look through trash to find cool stuff these days."

"Y-you're probably right." Ternal sighs. So much for her uplifted mood. Undyne tries to get her back on track before she sinks back into her depression.

"But uh hey, forget about that. Just stick with all the good times you two had."

"No, I should tell you what you need to hear. As Alphys got older she started to change. Her HP gradually grew and she listened to me less. She started her own research papers and experiments, building inventions, and socializing with suspicious looking monsters. I tried to get involved and keep a close eye but she kept isolating herself in her room away from me. It got to the point where I had to sneak into her room and hack her computer just to look at her notes."

"That….sounds a bit extreme, and that's coming from me."

"I know, because it is. I kept telling myself that I was doing this to protect Alphys and make sure she didn't make any mistakes. Just thinking of her experiments blowing up or backfiring horribly was worse than the guilt of violating her privacy. When she eventually moved out, Alphys only told me she was leaving right as she was about to walk out the door. I suppose she knew I would try to talk her out of it if she told me."

"So is that what this is all about? Alphys leaving without letting you know?"

"No, it's…it's much worse." Just thinking made Ternal cringe with regret. There's only one way to describe the way she feels right now.

* * *

Garbage. Repulsive, disgraceful garbage. It made sense why she spent so much time at the dump was because she belonged there. That's how Ternal feels about herself, and Alphys is in just as bad a situation.

Alphys sits by the shore moping over the outburst she made, as tears trickle down her cheek. She can't begin to describe how embarrassed and ashamed of herself she is. It hurts worst than the last time she yelled at her mother all those years ago. Mainly because of her friends being there. Her phone lays next to her buzzing from the onslaught of texts she's receiving. Alphys can't bring herself to answer any of them, just like the letters she received and ignored long ago.

"Why did I have to get them involved? They worked so hard for me and I ruined everything, again." She mutters to herself. It's inevitable that she will have to face them and that's what fills her with dread. Seeing the disappointment in their eyes would be too much for her to take. She thought she had been making progress yet she's just as cowardly as ever. All she wants is to silence these depressing thoughts and just enjoy the peace and quiet she shared with Undyne here not too long ago. "Why can't I do anything-"

"ALPHYS!"  
"GAH!"

The human approaches the startled monster who's clutching her chest and panting. "F-Frisk! Wh-wh-what are you d-doing here? How did you find me?"

"I….honestly don't know. Sans brought me here." Frisk answers bluntly.

"Figures." Sans's shortcuts are a great mystery that no one may ever be able to figure out. At this point Frisk has stopped trying to figure it out and accepted it as the enigma that he is. Even Alphys is puzzled by the skeleton's abilities.

"Of course, we were worried sick about you."

"You shouldn't be. I'm a colossal screw-up that doesn't deserve anyone's friendship or forgiveness. All I do is make messes that you guys end up cleaning up. I got you all involved in something I should have handled years ago. I can't even make up for my mistakes without someone holding my hand."

"Don't say that! You're our friend, and there's nothing wrong with asking for help. I ask for help from you and everybody else all the time, does that make me a screw up?"

"No, but... you're you. You're the selfless savior of monsterkind. I'm just a weak monster that can't be trusted to do anything right."

"Just because the dinner didn't work out doesn't mean you're a failure." Frisk sits down next to her and tries to console the scientist.

"It's not just the dinner. It seems like my whole life has been one disaster after another, ever since I was a child." It pains her to talk about this but seeing the inquisitive look on Frisk's face, she acknowledges that an explanation is an order. "I had really low HP when I was born, dangerously low. For good reasons, my mother kept a close eye on me t-to make sure that nothing terrible happened. I couldn't go anywhere without her, she rarely trusted anyone to look after me. It sounds bad but she tried to find stuff to keep me occupied like old text books from the dump and Librarby or old anime tapes."

"Eventually she let me go to school with the other kids and even convinced the teacher to give me special treatment, as a precaution so that nothing bad could possibly happen. Which meant that the teacher got defensive whenever any kids so much as even looked at me funny. Pretty soon the other kids started picking on me for being the teacher's favorites. I managed to avoid them by eating in the classroom and going home right after school. Aside from Bratty and Catty, I didn't have anyone but my family growing up. The kids were either jealous or thought the stuff I liked was too nerdy." Frisk recalls the time when Alphys called to ask about watching Mew Mew Kissie Cutie together and can see now why she was sounded so scared asking.

"So I stuck to hanging out with my mom, and my dad when he came over to visit. He had to work in Hotlands to support us and couldn't move when we did. He had a real knack for making puzzles. I loved working on experiments with her and learning about science from my mom, to me she was the smartest monster in the Underground. I wanted to impress her with my own work but any time I tried to make my own experiment or try to impress her in some other way she'd put a stop to it. It felt like anything I did that she didn't approve of was a mistake. It was tough knowing what was and wasn't acceptable because I feared having any of my suggestions rejected and receiving any disapproval."

"As I got older, I tried to branch out and do things on my own yet she still intervened. It made sense when I was younger that she be protective but then she went overboard. She barely trusted me to take care of myself. I had to sneak out at times or make up excuses just to get away from her. I started working on my own projects and inventions, hoping to one day make a profession out of my love of science. I had to do it in secret because my mother always wanted to get involved and take over the project. I liked working with her but I wanted to make something on my own, to prove that I am capable of being a successful scientist." The irritation that occurred during her adolescence resurfaced and brought back memories. Frisk can sympathize but wonders who Alphys was trying to prove her skills to.

"I tried to hide my research from her but she kept sneaking into my room and hacking my computer, making changes to it that I would have found eventually! I finally had enough and moved out before she could talk me out of it. She didn't know until the last day, and while I didn't mean to hurt her I had to do that so I could finally be my own monster. I didn't cut myself off from her…yet. I still let her come and visit but I had to make a secret lab to hide my real research. She kept critiquing my less critical work, like she did regarding Mettaton's original design, but I let it slide because I figured eventually it would stop and she'd treat me with respect. Unfortunately it did stop when she found my notes on Determination."

Determination. To Frisk, it held a number of meanings. A source of strength, a feeling of resolve, an excuse for stubbornness, but it's also the cause of one of Alphys's largest regret: The Amalgamates.

* * *

"I tried to give Alphys space to live on her own yet I…I couldn't stop myself from getting involved." Ternal continues hesitantly. "So I made excuses to visit so I could make sure that all her calculations were correct and that she didn't delve into anything risky. One night, I a-actually broke into her home because I heard that she was doing some questionable work for the King involving some injured monsters that she wouldn't tell me anything about."

Undyne feels compelled to scold her but wants to hear how this turned out. Ternal sounds swept up in her own story and Undyne doesn't want to break her flow. "I thought sh-she wasn't home at the time. That I could slip in and look around before she came home."

 _Ternal steps into her daughter's abode using only the light from the doorway to see. The room is in disarray. Clearly Alphys hasn't taken any time to clean up around here. That is the least of Ternal's concerns right now._

"At first I couldn't find anything. Nothing new that she could be working on. I planned on leaving then and there but I caught a glimpse at some calculations with the title 'Determination'. My curiosity got the best of me and…and I read them."

* * *

"I was in my secret lab still working on processing Determination and tending to the fallen monsters. I had just about perfected it and was going over every little detail to make sure that nothing could go wrong. When I went down to check in on the patients, I had accidentally left my notes upstairs. I was foolish thinking that it would be fine. Clearly I underestimated my mother." Alphys says.

 _The door to her secret room slides open and Alphys emerges going over every single contingency in her mind to make sure that everything worked out. Her movement and thought process come to a halt as she discovers Ternal looking over her notes. Her eyes widen and body tenses seeing her mother read over the notes she's been working on._

 _"_ _M-Mother?"_

 _Ternal gasps and drops the pages, startled by Alphys appearing out of nowhere._

* * *

"I don't know where she came from, though for years I suspected there were parts of her home I wasn't aware of. It would explain where she kept her patients. I should have apologized for letting myself in but I didn't. I was still shocked at what Alphys was planning."

 _"_ _A-A-Alphys, what is the meaning of this?" She read enough of Alphys's notes to get the gist of what she was attempting to do. These experiments have never been performed before by any monster or human, and for good reason._

* * *

"I had some many emotions boiling inside me but fear was the strongest. My mother had found out about my secret project and I struggled to come up with a proper explanation for her."

 _"_ _I-I-I-I…yes. The k-king wants me to…to research th-the p-power of s-s-souls. I…I th-th-think that-"_

 _"_ _Don't you realize how dangerous this is? Please tell me that the patients you have aren't involved."_

 _The pleading look in her mother's eyes shames her. Alphys wants to lie and tell her what she wants to hear just to appease her and get her out of here quickly yet she can't form any words._

"Deep down I believed Determination could be used for good. I thought I could make a difference and use my knowledge to save monsters. I thought it was worth taking the risk but…I couldn't find the words to convince her.

* * *

"I never even gave her a proper chance to explain herself. I immediately assumed the worst and forgot that Alphys wasn't a child I could order around."

 _"_ _Alphys this has to stop! You don't know what you're dealing with! This can only end badly for you and your patients."_

 _"_ _B-b-b-but-"_

 _"_ _You could be putting their lives in jeopardy! I don't care what the King has told you, you are not proceeding with this project!"_

"I was irrational. I was mad at myself. I ended up taking all that anger on her…. and she took hers out on me.

* * *

"She had every right to be worried, but I couldn't simply stop my work. Everyone was counting on me. Determination was the best bet I had at saving those dying monsters and possibly freeing us, not to mention making a scientific breakthrough on my own. Yet she was asking me to stop everything and acted as though as I was doomed from the start. She didn't have an ounce of faith in me. I…I guess that's what really infuriated me."

 _"_ _Y-You don't understand! This w-w-will work. I know it will! If you just trust me-" She begs_

 _"_ _You can't know that for certain!"_

 _"_ _Neither do you! Why do you always assume that I'm going to mess things up! Maybe you're the one who's wrong!"_

* * *

"I'd never seen her so angry before. It seemed to come out of nowhere, but….if I had been paying closer attention, I should have seen the signs coming."

 _"_ _Alphys please listen!"_

 _"_ _NO YOU LISTEN! I'm tired of being treated like a child. I'm tired of you doubting me. I'm tired of you interfering in my life! I am the royal scientist! Asgore trusts me, my patients trusts me, the entire kingdom trusts me, WHY CAN'T YOU!"_

"I wish I could say she was wrong that time, but she wasn't. I…..I didn't trust her. I always feared that no matter how talented or brilliant she may be, something would go wrong."

 _Ternal is frozen where she stands trembling before her daughter. There was nothing she could say that could resolve this. Alphys is panting with rage, angrier than she has ever been._

* * *

"I had every right to be mad at her. I felt so relieved to finally tell her off like that. I was waiting for her to say something. Anything to justify my rage…..Instead….she just left."

 _Ternal stands there stunned before her eyes well up and she runs sobbing, while Alphys is still boiling with anger. As soon as the door shuts behind her mother, Alphys picks up her notes and storms back down to the lab to finish her project._

"I wanted to prove to her what I was capable that I….I…." Her eyes dampen with new tears as she tries to finish her sentence. "…..I went ahead with the project. No more double checking, no more doubts. Without any thought about errors, I went through with my plan. I injected the patients with Determination and…well….you know the rest."

* * *

"It was cowardly of me but I ran. I wanted to be as far away from her as possible. I couldn't bear to feel her wrath any longer or hear her point out what a horrible parent I was. It took me a week before I summoned the courage to contact her. I sent her a letter thinking that meeting her in person would not be the best idea just yet but I didn't get a response. I sent another letter and didn't hear back from her again. I sent her daily letters for a month and heard nothing back. I went to her lab personally to see that she was alright but no response. The lights were still on so I assumed that she was still there." Ternal continues.

She pauses to wipe away her tears but her eyes don't stay dry for long. "From then on I only wrote once a week, hoping that she would reply at least once just so I would know she is at least fine. The weeks passed and she never responded, to me or anyone. Not her father, not the families of her patients, nothing. People had seen her but I've never managed to find her. Even if I did I likely would have stayed away. She had made it clear that she didn't want me in her life, and I didn't want to be reminded of what a terrible parent I was. What's kept me going was the hope that one day I could make it up to Alphys somehow."

* * *

"I locked myself and the Amalgamates up. I only ever went outside to buy groceries or scavenge the Dump. I ignored all the letters the patients' families sent and anything from my family. My mother was right all along. I wanted to prove her wrong so badly I got sloppy with my work. I should have apologized to her but I feared being reprimanded for ruining the lives of those monsters. It was my fault that they ended up as Amalgamates. If I didn't meet Undyne or the Amalgamates didn't need to be take care of them. I would have….I would have…."

Alphys doesn't finish her thought because a pair of tiny arms wrap around her in a hug. Unable to just sit there and listen, Frisk hugs her and comforts the scientist as best they can. Alphys feels unworthy of such compassion and considers pushing the human away but ends up hugging back and silently sobbing. She needs a hug more than ever right now.

* * *

Ternal's words hang heavy in the air. Undyne parks the car just to process everything she heard while Ternal mopes beside her. What could she possibly say after all that? It would be nice if Frisk or Alphys were here, they'd probably know what to say. Cars keep driving past them and a few nocturnal monsters are still roaming the streets casually. All these minor noises are irritably distracting to Undyne. "Ngaaaaaah, I don't know what to do. I'm mad at you but also sad for you, I don't have a clue where Alphys is," She pauses as her phone receives a text. To her disappointment, it's from Toriel asking if they are bringing Frisk back home soon. She growls and finishes saying, "And now the kid is off with that lazy bonehead. I can barely think like this. I need to clear my head and-"

At that moment it hits her like a ton of bricks. "How could I be so stupid! I think I know where she is, for real this time!" She turns her car back on and does a swift U-turn hoping that this time she's right.

 **Getting close to the end folks. I planned on posting this chapter a few days ago but I got sidetracked. Rest assured the last chapters will be posted in the day or so. Hope you're all enjoying the drama and I look forward to any comments/reviews that you may have. Thanks for reading.**


	7. Heart to Heart Talk

**I don't own Undertale, that was made by Toby Fox**

Frisk and Alphys sit in silence while she sobs quietly. If they had any tissues in their inventory, Frisk would offer some to the monster. She sniffles and says, "You know… before I left the Underground, I was terrified of what awaited me on the surface. I kept telling myself I could always rely on you guys to back me up. Now I realize that was selfish of me. I can't have my friends carry my burdens."

"We wanted to help Alphys because we care. Just like you help us because you care." Frisk points out to her.

"And whenever I try to help I just make things worse. Frisk, thank you but I'm not worth all of this effort. Just…just go home, I'll head back in a little bit-"

Suddenly in the distance they hear an ominous, enraged shout that makes them jump. Frisk stands up ready to defend Alphys who meekly cowers behind the child. Whatever made that sounds is getting closer and growling. Though it sounds somewhat familiar. Frisk braces for an encounter ready to ACT if necessary, just as someone emerges from the shadows.

Or in this case falls flat on the ground.

"NGAHHHH! I HATE THIS STUPID HEELS!" Undyne roars after tripping for the 7th time. "I don't care if these are Mettaton's, I'm chucking these in the woods right- ALPHYS!" Crawling faster than she ever has, Undyne embraces her girlfriend while completely ignoring the human. "Thank goodness I finally found you. This is the last place I could think of that you'd run off to."

"Undyne…."

"I'm so so so sorry I made you get together with your mom. I had no idea it was that bad. Please tell me you're alright. Are you hurt? How did you get here so fast?"

"Undyne…..you're crushing me." Alphys wheezes. Undyne lets go to give her some space and only now acknowledges Frisk's presence.

"Wait a sec, how long have you been here? Why aren't you back at your place? Toriel is getting worried. And why didn't you call me when you found her!"

"Undyne, don't be upset." Alphys says cutting off Frisk before the human can try to justify their reason to be there. "Frisk was just trying to comfort me and I started talking about what happened between my mom and I. It's my fault, as usual." Alphys sighs.

Undyne turns back to her favorite nerd and takes charge of the situation. She gives her another crushing hug and tells her, "Don't you ever say that Alphys. I know for a fact that you would never do anything bad on purpose."

"But…but I end up messing things up anyway and you guys end up cleaning it up."

"Who cares? I mess up all the time and I don't let it bother me. We all make mistakes. I'm pretty sure the kid even made some mistakes we don't know about." Neither monster are aware that Frisk's eyes are nervously darting from side to side as if there's something they know that everyone else doesn't. "Nobody's perfect you dumb genius. That's why we got each other's backs. If I didn't have you to even me out, I'd probably be in jail or homeless or in homeless jail."

"I-I'm not that great. People only listen to me once you make them." She admits, though her mood isn't as somber as before.

"But you're still great none the less. You make tons of cool gadgets, you practically made half the city, you make anime sound awesome, you taught the humans what monsters are really like, and you rock that dress!" Alphys can't stop herself from blushing now and shows a small smile. It had gotten ruffled and stained with mud when she got to the forest but it can be cleaned. At least, she hopes so.

"S-s-so do you. Sorry it went to waste."

"Are you kidding? I'm totally keeping this next time we go out. I'm not keeping the shoes. You better keep yours. We got to go to some snooty, fancy restaurant and show off to all those rich jerks." Alphys is smiling more thanks to her girlfriend and wiping her steamed up glasses.

"S-so how did you know I'd be here? I-I mean, I'm glad you did and all b-b-but I thought-"

"It wasn't easy. We checked every place I thought you'd be at. That comic book store, the beach, the tech store, Bratty and Catty's place, the arcade, then it hit me. Where's the one place Alphys would run off to get away from it all and be alone with her thoughts that's not our place?"

Alphys chuckles and looks back at the lake. The moon shines above them with its reflection gleaming on the water and stars dotting the nightsky. "The lake where we had our first real kiss." Alphys isn't sure whether to feel stupid to think that Undyne wouldn't find her here or feel touched that Undyne did know to check here. It feels like the perfect time for them to share another kiss but Frisk is with them and Alphys realizes something. "What did you mean when you said 'we'?"

"Your mom and me. I dragged her along to help me out. She's right over-" Undyne points to where she came from but Ternal is nowhere to be seen. "What the-! I thought she was right behind me. I can't believe I felt sorry for her after she told her sob story." She snarls while grinding her fangs together.

"It's….it's probably for the best. Maybe this is something that we can't fix." Alphys says woefully. It's just as bad as Alphys expected it to be, and she hates being right about this. As much as Undyne wants to hunt down Ternal and drag her by the tail back over here, she decides to let this one go and tend to Alphys. She could always track down Ternal another time, Alphys needs cheering up pronto.

"Hey, let's forget your dumb old mom for a sec and tell me how you got over here. Have you been holding back on our runs? Cause if you have, then I'm going to amp it up from now on and stop holding back."

Alphys frantically shakes her head not wanting to work out any more than she has to. "No no no no no, I'm nowhere near as good as you are. I-"

"Wait, don't tell me. You got your jetpack app to work didn't you?"

"…..yeah." She answers guiltily.

"Aw that's amazing. I can't believe I missed it. You have to let me test it out. I swear I won't crash into anything...on purpose."

As the couple reconnects and ignores Frisk completely, Ternal is not far off making her way back to the main road. She stayed long enough to see Undyne raise Alphys's spirits then left knowing that her daughter is in good hands. The last thing she needs is to ruin everything all over again. "She's better off without me anyway. I'd just ruin everything she's built." Ternal mutters to herself, once again alone and running away from her daughter.

"I wouldn't say that." Says a new voice.

Ternal jolts hearing this new voice fearing that someone was trying to jump her but instead finds a certain casual skeleton blocking her path. "Oh, i-it's just you Sans. I d-d-didn't see you-"

"No but I see you, running away from your problems again. I see where Alphys gets it from, 'cept she's actually working on fixing them." His words cut deep yet she cannot deny that he's right.

"I know it's wrong and cowardly of me, but Alphys doesn't need me anymore. She hasn't needed me for a long time. You've seen how things get when I'm with her. She hates me, and I don't want to cause any more trouble than I already have."

"Yeah you two got it rough but I can't let you leave just yet." Before she can even think about taking another route, Sans's eye glows blue and several large bones emerge from the ground barricading her in. She franticly looks around trying to find a means of escape until she discovers Frisk standing right behind her. "Not til the kid says what they got to say."

"Ternal, Alphys does need you. More than you realize." Frisk pleads with their innocent eyes.

"Frisk, I…I….I can't…." Ternal starts but gets caught off once more.

"Just hear me out before you go. Alphys wanted me to talk with you and I want to help her. There's more to this than you think." Frisk tells the fleeing monster. Ternal looks over her shoulders at Sans who remains in the same position.

"What the kid said. I'm only here so they can do what Alphys asked." He sits back and leans against one of the bones getting comfortable in case this takes longer than a few minutes.

It's clear that she can't get out of this without listening to the child so Ternal admits defeat and lets the human say their piece. "Very well."

"Alphys told me everything that happened between you two. It's obvious she loves you but it's also clear she fears you. She's been trying for years to impress you with her work but every time you stopped her from acting on her own, she worried more that she would disappoint you. She wanted to prove to you that she can be a great scientist on her own. That's why she's been hiding from you. She blames herself for what happened all those years ago and has been doubting herself ever since. She's worried that you'll finally scold her for what happened long ago and never let her move past this."

"She….she what? How could she-?" Ternal is baffled by the revelation, although most of it she is fairly aware of. She doesn't even notice Sans lower the barrier he conjured around them or the footsteps nearing them. "I need to find her before it's too late. I can't lose her again." She turns around to head back to the lake only to discover her daughter walking side by side with Undyne towards them. This is it. What might be the last chance for the mother and daughter to make amends.

"Alphys, i-it's good to see you're still here. Th-there's s-something that….I've been meaning to tell you ever since I came to y-your house." Ternal says with her fingers clenched and lip wavering. Alphys dreads what's about to happen but having Frisk and Undyne here reassures her that no matter, her friends will be there. She braces for the worst. So does Undyne who plans on retaliating if Ternal says anything that will send her crush bawling again. With a sniffle, Ternal tells her daughter what she's been aching to say for years.

"I'm sorry."

Ternal fights the urge to run knowing well that saying those two words weren't going to be enough to make up for all those years of mistrust. Before Alphys can even clarify, Ternal continues, "I'm sorry for not trusting you more. I'm sorry forcing you to change your robot's design and insulting your friend. I'm sorry for trying to talk you out of buying that dress. I….I…I'm sorry for everything. For isolating you from other children, for controlling your childhood, for invading your privacy, for doubting your skills, for embarrassing you and making you feel horrible, for making you put up with me, for ordering your food, and most importantly, for not telling you this when I should!"

She takes off her glasses to wipe her tears away but it's not enough. Ternal drops to her knees and sobs into her hands remorseful of all that she has done. "I'm a terrible parent. I wanted to protect you bu-but I did more harm than good. It's my fault your Determination project failed. I've hated myself for meddling in your work. I thought I had lost your love for good. I thought I could make amends but I'm not worth forgiving. I've stopped you from living a normal life and making incredible scientific achievements. If anyone deserves to stay stuck Underground it's me."

Alphys won't stand there and let her mother weep before her. Rushing in front of her now at eye level, she tells her, "Don't say that, y-you had every right to be worried. The project WAS doomed from the start. I was just too stubborn to realize it. All I wanted to do was be like you and help out the monsters of the Underground using science and technology. I should have gone to you a long time ago a-and received whatever punishment I deserved."

It looks like Alphys is about to start crying too but then Ternal says, "What are you talking about? You're nothing like me. You're a far better scientist than could ever dream of." Ternal wipes her tears away and looks her daughter in the eye. "I was just a simple repairwoman. I could never compete with you and your inventions. You've built fully functioning robots with AI, jetpacks-"

"Our place, a machine that turns seaweed into ice cream." Undyne adds.

"Exactly! Plus you've garnered so many friends that care about you, especially Undyne. All of this you did on your own, without any assistance from me."

The two share a sweet smile as Alphys can barely contain the joy she's feeling. "I m-may not have had y-your help, but without you I wouldn't be the monster that I am today. As controlling as you were, I couldn't have become the royal scientist and meet my friends if you hadn't taught me everything you knew. S-s-so….thank you mom."

If they hadn't bawled their eyes out half an hour ago the two monsters would be crying tears of joy right about now. Before that ends up happening, Undyne butts in and asks, "Okay so you forgive her, and she forgives you. Does this mean you too can stop acting all awkward and weird and self-loathing and just make up already?"

They share a look and nod. "Absolutely," The two nerds agree simultaneously, embracing each other in a heartwarming hug. The onlookers smile at the mother and daughter reconnecting and putting the issue to rest. For Frisk it's worth any trouble that Toriel might dish out when they get home. Sans is snoozing against a nearby tree while Undyne is ecstatic seeing her girlfriend work things out with her mother.

They let go and Ternal stands back up. Ternal adjusts her glasses and adds, "By the way, your girlfriend here is a wonderfully caring, albeit intimidating monster. I've never seen anyone so passionate in my life."

Undyne just chuckles sheepishly and rubs the back of her neck. "Aw thanks, you're too-" She and Alphys go wide eyed for a moment caught off guard by what she said. Even Frisk and Sans, who just woke up, didn't see that coming.

"YOU KNEW!" Alphys and Undyne exclaimed. The nerdier monster stammers, "H-h-h-how did you know?" Undyne shoots Sans a dirty look assuming that he's behind this.

"A-actually, I've known for s-some time." She says uncomfortably. "You s-s-see, I um may have used an alias to get you to friend me on UnderNet s-so I could follow your posts. I found out about you two when you changed your r-relationship status and started writing about your dates and um how much you c-care for each other." The couple blush at the thought of Ternal reading the lovey dovey posts Alphys has posted or the ones Undyne commented on sappily. "I-I had my reservations at first about you dating the Captain of the Royal Guard but she's surpassed my expectations. I think I can count on her to take good care of you. Er, that is if you need it b-but I'm sure you're more than capable of handling things yourself.

Frisk covers their mouth to suppress a giggle even with the irritated look Undyne is giving. Sans takes the kid's hand and says, "Well, this has been fun and all but I should get the kid back home before Toriel flips. Later."

He and Frisk walk away while Frisk smiles and waves back at the monsters who clearly have a lot of catching up to do. It looks like all their problems are finally over. Well, except for one….


	8. Lot of Catching Up To Do

**I don't own Undertale, Toby Fox does**

Mettaton sits patiently in Alphys and Undyne's home with one slender leg over the other and his head resting in his palm. Undyne sits across from him looking equally bored lying on the couch and twirling one of her spears in the air to entertain herself. There's not much for them to say since she wasn't the one who invited him here. Alphys leads Ternal to the living room, the latter looking as nervous as usual. The former however, is chipper and has a reassuring smile that she gives to her mother. Mettaton sits up and folds his arms glowering at the taller monster.

"Th-thank you for coming on short notice Mettaton." Alphys greets. "My mother would like to say something to you." Ternal feels Alphys let go of her hand and faces the superstar.

"I….I'm sorry for my b-b-behavior at dinner. Alphys has explained everything and at the time I didn't realize the robot body she was designing would also be your new form. If I had known I would have never said those hurtful words the other night."

His facial features soften but he keeps on frowning. "I appreciate the sentiment but you shouldn't have to apologize. You were giving your honest opinion of me and like you said, you didn't know. Besides….you aren't the first person to critique my appearance and I suppose everyone is entitled to their opinion. If I'm to become a celebrity on the surface I should be prepared to receive criticism." It's evident to everyone that her words still have a lingering effect on the robot and that he's still taking it personally, even if he says so otherwise.

"I shouldn't have, my views were superficial. I w-watched a tape of your fight against the human." Alphys had been reluctant to reveal that to her mother but she deserved to know everything that Alphys has done since their argument. Everyone else had seen it, so why not her own mother? "Even though you lost, i-it was a tremendous battle that I think would have impressed the king." As considerate as that is, it's not enough to shake Mettaton out of the funk he's in. "B-besides, I may not find your appearance to be the most suitable for a fighter, but I th-think that it's perfect for an entertainer."

Hearing this does brighten Mettaton's mood a bit and pique his interest. "You think so?"

"A-absolutely. A bipedal creature is a relatable form for most creatures, your well-groomed look shows you're professional, have high self-esteem, and care about your looks, the sparkling pink draws attention to you and reflects your personality, certain aspects would be considered appealing to both male and female, and since you're built more humanesque, humans should be able to relate you physically. My tastes aside, I think that this is the best look for you." It's hard to tell if that compliment is meant for Mettaton and/or Alphys but it does the trick at bringing a smile to his face.

"If you're just saying that because Alphys made you, you'd make a great actor." He stands with his confident composure regained and a smirk. "Otherwise, you are quite the smooth talker. Apology accepted." Undyne and Ternal sigh in relief, glad to have this ordeal over with. Alphys is just happy to have everyone she cares about getting along finally.

"I'm glad we could work things out. Th-though, m-might I make a small suggestion?" Ternal asks, hesitant about saying something that would be offensive to the robot.

He raises a brow curiously and asks, "And what might that be?"

"Welllllll….I was looking over the functions Alphys installed for you and I was thinking….what if you had a stereo system installed into your chest plate so um y-you could connect their phones to you and p-play music? Or store music in you ahead of time?"

"…"

"….."

"…that. Is. BRILLIANT!" He stretches arm over and pulls her closer to him. "Now is that just an idea or do you have any blueprints that could work?"

"Oh, w-w-well I did have some rough drafts made up b-but it's not that detailed. I w-wanted to see if you ap-approved first."

"Oh Ab-so-lute-ly! You wouldn't happen to have any other ideas in that head of yours, would you?"

She blushes a little and admits, "Well….umm…..I-I did have a few ideas…."

"Ooooh! Do tell. Would you mind if I ran by some ideas with you I've had? Alphys refuses to hear any of mine."

"That's because they're either impossible, unnecessary, or drain your battery too quickly." Alphys points out in her defense.

"W-well I suppose." Ternal answers regardless of what Alphys said.

"Does that mean you'll be staying for breakfast?" Undyne asks while sitting up.

"Well if you insist." He says coyly. He walks with her into the kitchen listing off a few upgrades he's been thinking while Alphys joins her girlfriend on the couch.

"You okay with your mom trying to alter Mettaton's body?" Undyne asks.

"Ehh, it's his body. As long as it doesn't harm him it's fine. Besides, I-I think it's time I take Mettaton's advice and learn to take a little criticism." Alphys answers. Undyne smiles proudly at her girlfriend. She sits up and pulls Alphys over to give her a peck on the cheek.

"That a girl. Now I won't burn your nerd books." She teases. Alphys blushes beet red and smiles while trying to cover up her face with her hands.

"U-Undyne, my mother's in the other room."

"You're right, we better go in there and do it again. This time on the lips~" She says playfully. Alphys gets flustered by the very notion causing Undyne to lose control of her laughter. "Fuhuhuhuhuhu! You're too easy sometimes."

Alphys scowls a little at her and shuts her up by planting a kiss on the lips. Undyne is caught off guard and astonished by the act. Alphys leans back and smirks. "So are you. Now come on, let's go get some breakfast before Mettaton talks her ears off." She hops off the couch leaving Undyne shocked yet proud of the progress Alphys has been making. She catches up to her but stops just as Alphys does. "Oh and…..thanks for putting up with me and mom."

"Oh please, don't worry about it. You should know I'll always be there for you. Besides, your mom's not so bad. You should get a load of my folks."

"Wh-what are they like?" Just like her girlfriend, Alphys didn't know a ton about Undyne's parents.

Undyne is about to tell, but changes her mind at the last second. "I'll tell you later. I know they're gonna love you and not show up at our door unannounced. Fuhuhu."

Alphys would have pressed further but she lets it slide for now. Right now she just wants to enjoy this seemingly perfect morning. Undyne joins Mettaton in the kitchen where the two proceed to argue over what to make for breakfast while Alphys sits next to her mom. "I hope he didn't ask anything to extravagant from you."

"W-well….most of it is manageable b-but I do believe some restraint is in order." Ternal replies.

"Good call. Listen…if you want maybe we can try to meet up again next weekend and try again. Maybe go somewhere other than the mall."

"Really? A-are you sure?"

"Yeah. Maybe next time we'll get it right. If not….I guess we'll just have to keep trying." Ternal can't help but smile even while Mettaton and Undyne bicker over cooking techniques.

"That sounds wonderful. Now how about you tell me what you've been up to lately. I'd love to hear about what's happened on the surface."

"Oh...um...you probably don't...well it's a long story."

"I'm listening, and I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon."

Alphys hesitates briefly but then responds, "Alright...I guess I should start with what happened once the barrier was lifted. It was a few days before the humans officially realized that monsters had resurfaced..." Alphys recounts the events that happened to her and her friends to her mother, starting up what would be a long story. She has her concerns that some bits might shock or disturb her mother but feels confident that everything will turn out alright.

 **And so comes the end of my first Undertale story. It wasn't easy but I'm glad I finally got around to writing it. I thought about combining this chapter with the previous one but felt like it would be weird having the final chapter occur immediately after Alphys's outburst.**

 **On another note, I'm also considering making my own Post-Pacifist Run series focusing on all the Undertale characters, instead of solely being Alphys and Undyne, and how they handle integrating with human society and living on the surface together. It's planned to be chockfull of action, mystery, humor, and drama just like in the game. I'm still on the fence about making it but I might make a short teaser and go through with it if enough people are interested.**

 **Anyway, I just want to thank everyone for reading and to the people that took the time to write up reviews for my story. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am to receive them.**


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